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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: can · bat · vault · tear · pitcher · ball · bound · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bound — tied together
  6. vault — a safe
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. tear — to rip
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. ball — a great time
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. can — a tin
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. bound — certain
  17. can — a tin
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. can — to be able to
  21. bound — obliged
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bat — the animal

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