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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
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: spring · cold · bat · vault · mouse · can · scale · present

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. present — there
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. can — to be able to
  9. bat — the animal
  10. present — a gift
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. cold — not warm
  14. can — a tin
  15. cold — an illness
  16. spring — a coil
  17. can — a tin
  18. vault — a safe
  19. scale — in music
  20. spring — the season
  21. scale — size or range
  22. spring — of water
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. mouse — the animal

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