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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. bat — the animal
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — music
  15. land — a country
  16. ball — a great time
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. ball — a dance
  19. deal — to handle
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. shower — rain
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. vault — a safe

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