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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: mouse · cell · vault · straw · spell · bat · toast · hand

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. spell — magic
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. toast — bread
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cell — a phone
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — a safe
  13. hand — help
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. hand — in cards
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. spell — letters
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. spell — a short time

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