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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. toast — bread
  4. cold — an illness
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. swing — in golf
  7. cold — not warm
  8. spring — the season
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. kid — to tease
  13. vault — a safe
  14. spring — of water
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — a leader
  17. swing — to play on
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. kid — child
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. swing — music
  24. spring — a coil

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