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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 116 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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. net — in sport
  3. snap — to click
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. net — after costs
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — to point toward
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. lean — to bend
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. net — for catching
  15. lean — thin
  16. vault — a safe
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. row — to paddle
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. chair — a leader
  21. face — part of the head
  22. row — a line
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. chair — to sit on

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