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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: fan · mark · bat · pop · game · vault · chest · stand

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. chest — of your body
  6. vault — a safe
  7. game — wild animals
  8. chest — a box
  9. stand — to bear
  10. pop — to visit
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. chest — of your body
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pop — music
  18. pop — soda
  19. mark — a trace
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. game — a match
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. fan — a supporter

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