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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: game · fall · bat · vault · pass · pop · rush · mate

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. vault — a safe
  3. bat — the animal
  4. game — a match
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. mate — to breed
  10. pop — music
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — a friend
  17. pop — soda
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rush — hurry
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. pass — a permit
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. fall — the season
  24. pass — to spend time

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