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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: bat · stick · ball · vault · pitch · cold · rest · shower

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. vault — a safe
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. rest — what's left
  14. shower — rain
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a great time
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pitch — completely
  22. rest — a break
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. bat — in an idiom

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