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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. lean — thin
  4. date — the fruit
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. lean — to bend
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. date — on the calendar

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