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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 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. kid — to tease
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. swing — to play on
  6. land — a country
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. land — to come down
  9. craft — boats
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. land — ground
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. rock — music
  15. craft — a skill
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. kid — child
  18. swing — music
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. rock — a stone
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. vault — a safe
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. swing — in golf

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