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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. board — a committee
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. press — to push
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. cold — not warm
  11. press — newspapers
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. cold — an illness
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. hand — in cards
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. board — to get on
  21. vault — a safe
  22. hand — help
  23. press — a publisher
  24. patient — a sick person

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