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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: vault · bat · wind · stem · straw · pit

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — the animal
  4. stem — to come from
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. pit — in a race
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. vault — a safe

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