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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: toast · ground · tube · bat · fan · vault · cell · cue

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cue — a hint
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. bat — the animal
  8. tube — the underground
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — a safe
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — a container
  13. ground — the earth
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. toast — bread
  22. ground — a position
  23. cue — for pool
  24. fan — a supporter

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