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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: straw · fine · club · vault · bat · tear

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. tear — from crying
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. fine — high quality
  5. tear — to rip
  6. fine — all right
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. vault — a safe
  9. club — for dancing
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. club — for golf
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bat — the animal
  16. club — a group
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. straw — a straw man

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