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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. band — a music group
  3. shower — to wash
  4. hand — in cards
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. key — for a lock
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. vault — a safe
  9. mug — a cup
  10. key — in music
  11. bat — the animal
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. key — the most important part
  14. mug — a face
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. hand — help
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. shower — rain
  20. band — a ring
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. mug — to rob

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