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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 120 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: fork · rock · bat · bowl · vault · tear · track · cell

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — a song
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. vault — a safe
  5. rock — music
  6. fork — in a road
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rock — a stone
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. track — to keep track
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. fork — to eat with

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