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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 120 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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. tube — a container
  4. present — there
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. present — the time now
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. degree — an amount
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. branch — a division
  12. degree — from a university
  13. tube — the underground
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. present — a gift
  16. vault — a safe
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. degree — temperature
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of a car

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