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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bank — of a river
  3. board — a committee
  4. pit — a hole
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. board — to get on
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cell — a phone
  13. pit — in a race
  14. bank — for money
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. shower — rain
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. bank — for money
  24. cell — in biology

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