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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: present · kid · vault · ball · bat · mug · hand · mine

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mug — a cup
  4. kid — child
  5. hand — in cards
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. present — there
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mug — to rob
  12. present — a gift
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mug — a face
  15. present — the time now
  16. hand — help
  17. ball — a dance
  18. vault — a safe
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. kid — to tease
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ball — a great time
  24. mine — belonging to me

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