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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 120 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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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: kid · bat · bore · press · vault · kick · file · rash

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. press — to push
  3. bore — to tire
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. file — a document
  9. press — newspapers
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rash — a series
  12. kid — child
  13. kick — in football
  14. kid — to tease
  15. press — a publisher
  16. rash — hasty
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. file — a line of people
  22. vault — a safe
  23. file — a tool
  24. bat — 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