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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: game · fine · leaves · bat · bay · kick · vault · shower

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. game — wild animals
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. fine — all right
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. game — a match
  8. bat — the animal
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. vault — a safe
  15. shower — to wash
  16. kick — in football
  17. shower — rain
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. fine — high quality

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