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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 124 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: cap · bowl · hand · wind · plane · swing · vault · chip

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. vault — a safe
  4. hand — help
  5. plane — a tool
  6. swing — in golf
  7. cap — a hat
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. cap — a lid
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. hand — in cards
  14. chip — to eat
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. swing — to play on
  17. chip — for betting
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. swing — music
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. chip — in a computer

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