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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: stick · hide · game · bat · vault · pop · saw · chest

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  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. hide — animal skin
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. chest — a box
  5. game — a match
  6. vault — a safe
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. saw — the tool
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. chest — of your body
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pop — soda
  14. bat — the animal
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. saw — the tool
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. pop — music
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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