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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: lean · vault · net · date · roll · chest · deal · bat

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. chest — a box
  5. roll — a list
  6. vault — a safe
  7. deal — to handle
  8. lean — thin
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. date — the fruit
  11. chest — of your body
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. roll — a cake
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — for catching
  18. net — in sport
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. lean — to bend
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. chest — of your body
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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