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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: chest · cap · pit · bat · vault · ground · hand · bore

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pit — in a race
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. hand — help
  6. pit — a hole
  7. ground — the earth
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bore — to tire
  10. cap — a hat
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bore — to drill
  15. ground — a position
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. chest — a box
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a lid
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. vault — a safe
  24. hand — in cards

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