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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: bat · march · ball · vault · kid · chest · pit · staff

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. ball — a dance
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. chest — a box
  6. vault — a safe
  7. bat — the animal
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. staff — employees
  11. chest — of your body
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — child
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. pit — in a race
  18. staff — a stick
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. ball — a great time
  23. march — music
  24. staff — employees

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