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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: tear · pitch · vault · bat · present · game

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. present — a gift
  3. game — a match
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. present — there
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. present — the time now
  9. bat — the animal
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. vault — a safe
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bat — for baseball

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