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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. vault — a safe
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fork — in a road
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — a series
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. rash — hasty

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