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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. key — the most important part
  3. hand — help
  4. kick — in football
  5. chest — a box
  6. vault — a safe
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. march — the month
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. march — music
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cell — a phone
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. cell — in biology
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. key — in music
  18. key — for a lock
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. chest — of your body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. march — the month

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