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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. roll — a list
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. cap — of ice
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. band — a music group
  10. row — to paddle
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cap — a lid
  13. band — a ring
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. vault — a safe
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. cap — a hat
  19. fork — in a road
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. row — a line
  24. straw — dry grass

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