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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: squash · mark · land · tube · fan · rash · bat · vault

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. tube — the underground
  10. rash — a series
  11. mark — a trace
  12. vault — a safe
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. squash — to crush
  15. land — a country
  16. tube — a container
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. squash — the sport
  19. land — to come down
  20. mark — a grade
  21. land — ground
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. rash — hasty

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