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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: vault · bat · ball · track · game · wound · pit · stock

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bat — the animal
  3. stock — goods
  4. wound — an injury
  5. vault — a safe
  6. pit — a hole
  7. track — a path
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. pit — in a race
  10. track — a song
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. ball — a dance
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. track — to keep track
  17. game — wild animals
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. ball — a great time
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — a match
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wound — an injury
  24. stock — shares

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