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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: vault · pound · nail · hand · bat · mine · wind · racket

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pound — a weight
  15. vault — a safe
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. hand — help
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bat — the animal
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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