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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — letters
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. stand — to bear
  8. spell — a short time
  9. club — a group
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. club — for dancing
  12. march — music
  13. bat — the animal
  14. club — for golf
  15. vault — a safe
  16. march — the month
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cell — a phone
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cell — in biology
  22. march — the month
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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