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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: clip · kid · racket · mine · can · vault · bat · date

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. clip — a video
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kid — child
  12. can — a tin
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. date — the fruit
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. vault — a safe
  17. bat — the animal
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — to be able to
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. kid — to tease
  22. mine — for digging
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. clip — to cut

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