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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  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. straw — dry grass
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. clip — for paper
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cap — a lid
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. cap — of ice
  10. clip — a video
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. cell — a phone
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — a safe
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. clip — to cut
  23. cap — a hat
  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