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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. court — for sport
  3. root — of a plant
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. court — of a king
  6. present — there
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. root — the cause
  10. chest — of your body
  11. present — the time now
  12. root — of a word
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. court — of law
  15. vault — a safe
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. present — a gift
  18. bat — the animal
  19. chest — a box
  20. wax — to grow
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. chest — of your body

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