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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · cell · vault · season · track · roll · bat · mate

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mate — to breed
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. game — a match
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. track — to keep track
  8. vault — a safe
  9. track — a song
  10. roll — a list
  11. game — wild animals
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. roll — a cake
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. season — in sport
  16. mate — a friend
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bat — the animal
  21. season — of the year
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. mate — a partner
  24. track — a path

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