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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: ball · vault · bat · rock · clip · rest · bear · foot

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. clip — for paper
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. vault — a safe
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rest — what's left
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. bear — the animal
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. foot — a measure
  19. rock — a stone
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. rock — music
  22. ball — a great time
  23. rest — a break
  24. ball — a round shape

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