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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  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. vault — a safe
  2. bound — obliged
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. perch — the fish
  5. lean — to bend
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. net — after costs
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — certain
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. hand — help
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. net — in sport
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bat — the animal
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — thin
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. net — for catching
  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