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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: bat · mark · cue · field · saw · kid · vault · can

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. field — for sport
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. kid — child
  5. saw — the tool
  6. can — to be able to
  7. cue — a hint
  8. can — a tin
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. vault — a safe
  11. cue — for pool
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. cue — a signal
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. field — a subject
  17. mark — a grade
  18. mark — a trace
  19. kid — to tease
  20. can — a tin
  21. field — farmland
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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