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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: club · fine · clip · shower · bay · vault · kick · bat

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. club — for dancing
  3. vault — a safe
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. fine — all right
  6. bat — the animal
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. clip — a video
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. club — a group
  13. shower — rain
  14. club — for golf
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. shower — to wash
  20. fine — high quality
  21. clip — for paper
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. kick — in football

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