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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: safe · vault · cap · present · bat · ball · net · cold

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — of ice
  4. present — the time now
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — after costs
  7. ball — a great time
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. cap — a lid
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. present — there
  14. net — in sport
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. present — a gift
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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