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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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. squash — to crush
  4. board — a committee
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. board — to get on
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — music
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. squash — the sport
  21. vault — a safe
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — size or range

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