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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. fall — to drop
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — the tool
  17. press — newspapers
  18. cell — in biology
  19. drill — army training
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. press — to push
  22. fall — the season
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. kid — child

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