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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. vault — a safe
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. tear — from crying
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — hasty
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cue — a signal
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. cue — a hint
  22. bat — the animal
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in a prison

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