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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 120 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. chair — a leader
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — music
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. pop — soda
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mate — a partner
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. kid — child
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. trunk — of a car

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