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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bat — the animal
  4. lean — thin
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. shower — rain
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. lean — to bend
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. season — in sport
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. craft — boats
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. vault — a safe
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. chair — a leader

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