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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 · cue · bore · cap · foot · vault · tear · band

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. bat — the animal
  3. vault — a safe
  4. band — a music group
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a lid
  13. foot — a measure
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — to tire
  20. band — a ring
  21. tear — to rip
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. cue — a hint

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