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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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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: present · vault · lean · bore · wind · bat · field · mate

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. bat — the animal
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. field — farmland
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. present — a gift
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. present — there
  12. lean — thin
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — to breed
  15. field — for sport
  16. vault — a safe
  17. field — a subject
  18. bore — to drill
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. present — the time now
  24. bore — to tire

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