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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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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: vault · saw · content · rock · kid · bat · can · degree

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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 — in an idiom
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bat — the animal
  5. can — to be able to
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. kid — child
  8. saw — the tool
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. can — a tin
  11. saw — the tool
  12. degree — temperature
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. vault — a safe
  15. can — a tin
  16. degree — an amount
  17. content — happy
  18. content — the amount
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rock — music
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. degree — from a university
  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