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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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. fan — to cool the air
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. bat — the animal
  7. vault — a safe
  8. chest — a box
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. rock — music
  12. chest — of your body
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rash — a series
  20. drill — a practice
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — the tool
  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