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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: rest · tube · last · bulb · bat · vault · cold · object

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. rest — a break
  3. object — an aim
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. last — final
  6. rest — what's left
  7. object — a thing
  8. bulb — for light
  9. last — finally
  10. object — to protest
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. cold — an illness
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rest — what's left
  16. vault — a safe
  17. tube — a container
  18. tube — the underground
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. last — to go on
  21. bulb — for light
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cold — not warm

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