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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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Word bank
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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 · wake · cell · bat · pitcher · craft · last · hand

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. craft — a skill
  17. hand — help
  18. craft — boats
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. last — finally
  23. wake — a trail
  24. cell — a phone

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