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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. vault — a safe
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rush — hurry
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. cold — an illness
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. cold — not warm
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. rest — what's left
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. rest — a break
  24. racket — for tennis

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