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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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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: hand · bat · vault · pitch · land · wax · mate · bowl

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. land — ground
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. hand — help
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bat — the animal
  9. land — a country
  10. mate — a friend
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. land — to come down
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. vault — a safe
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. mate — a partner

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