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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: file · pop · mine · bat · perch · ground · kid · vault

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. pop — soda
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pop — music
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a tool
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. mine — for digging
  14. ground — the earth
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. pop — to visit
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — crushed
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. vault — a safe
  23. file — a line of people
  24. perch — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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