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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: rash · vault · last · board · jam · bat · tube · mate

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. vault — a safe
  3. tube — a container
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. mate — a partner
  9. tube — the underground
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. mate — a friend
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. board — a committee
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. board — to get on
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. mate — to breed
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bat — the animal
  24. rash — a series

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