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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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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: vault · object · bay · bat · cold · band · trunk · swing

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. object — to protest
  3. cold — not warm
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. vault — a safe
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. object — an aim
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a music group
  20. swing — music
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — in golf
  24. object — a thing

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