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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. vault — a safe
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. cap — of ice
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cap — a hat
  9. fork — in a road
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. band — a music group
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. wake — a trail
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. band — a ring
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — to handle
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. cap — a lid
  24. trunk — of a tree

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