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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rest — what's left
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. bass — the fish
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. rest — what's left
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. perch — the fish
  15. rest — a break
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. kid — to tease
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bass — low music

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