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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · nail · face · vault · stem · ground · ball · spell

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. face — to point toward
  3. club — for golf
  4. ground — crushed
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. club — a group
  9. ground — a position
  10. face — part of the head
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. ball — a dance
  13. spell — a short time
  14. stem — to come from
  15. spell — letters
  16. face — to confront
  17. spell — magic
  18. ball — a great time
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. ground — the earth
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. club — for dancing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com