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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  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 — for baseball
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. vault — a safe
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. race — a contest
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. chair — a leader
  9. bat — the animal
  10. race — humankind
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. net — after costs
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. race — the arms race
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. net — for catching
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. net — in sport
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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