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

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. shower — rain
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. saw — the tool
  5. vault — a safe
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bat — the animal
  10. kid — child
  11. pass — a permit
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. date — the fruit
  24. bat — in an idiom

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