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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: toast · bore · spring · pop · vault · ground · tear · bat

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. pop — soda
  3. ground — the earth
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. bore — to drill
  6. vault — a safe
  7. spring — of water
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — crushed
  11. toast — bread
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. tear — to rip
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. spring — a coil
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. spring — the season

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