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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. vault — a safe
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. cap — of ice
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cold — not warm
  11. kick — in football
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — in golf
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. cap — a hat
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. swing — to play on

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