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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. track — a song
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. race — the arms race
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. race — humankind
  15. track — a path
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. vault — a safe
  19. wake — a trail
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. race — a contest
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. track — to keep track

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