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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 116 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. vault — a safe
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wake — a trail
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. hand — help
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. hand — in cards

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