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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. kick — in football
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. board — a committee
  5. file — a line of people
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. root — of a word
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. band — a ring
  10. row — a line
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. root — of a plant
  13. band — a music group
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. board — to get on
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. file — a tool
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. file — a document
  24. root — the cause

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