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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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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: vault · ball · game · can · plane · kid · wind · straw

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. game — a match
  6. ball — a dance
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. game — wild animals
  9. wind — moving air
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. kid — child
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. can — a tin
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. vault — a safe
  19. ball — a great time
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wind — moving air
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. plane — a tool
  24. kid — to tease

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