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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 120 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: bat · bulb · fall · rash · vault · ground · hand · pitcher

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bulb — for light
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. ground — the earth
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. ground — crushed
  11. fall — the season
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. fall — to drop
  14. rash — a series
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. hand — help
  17. ground — a position
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. vault — a safe
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bulb — for light

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