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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: fall · bay · row · bat · pit · ball · vault · straw

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pit — in a race
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. fall — to drop
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bat — the animal
  16. fall — the season
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. ball — a great time
  19. vault — a safe
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. ball — a dance
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. pit — a hole

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