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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — help
  3. vault — a safe
  4. kick — in football
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. root — the cause
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cold — an illness
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. chest — a box
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. root — of a word
  19. root — of a plant
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. hand — in cards
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. chest — of your body

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