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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. board — to get on
  4. drill — army training
  5. vault — a safe
  6. board — a committee
  7. file — a line of people
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. rash — hasty
  13. drill — a practice
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. land — a country
  18. rash — a series
  19. file — a document
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. land — ground
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. file — a tool
  24. drill — the tool

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