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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. board — a committee
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. chest — of your body
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. vault — a safe
  10. hand — in cards
  11. chest — of your body
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. chest — a box
  21. hand — help
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. board — to get on
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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