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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bank — for money
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. land — a country
  6. bank — of a river
  7. shower — rain
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. land — ground
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. land — to come down
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. field — a subject
  18. ball — a great time
  19. ball — a dance
  20. shower — to wash
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. bank — for money
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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