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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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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: chair · vault · bat · can · pit · staff · prune · kid

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. pit — in a race
  3. staff — employees
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. can — to be able to
  8. can — a tin
  9. chair — a leader
  10. staff — a stick
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. kid — to tease
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. staff — employees
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pit — a hole
  23. vault — a safe
  24. prune — to trim

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