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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. cell — a phone
  3. rest — a break
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cue — a signal
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. vault — a safe
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. cue — for pool
  17. bark — to shout
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bat — the animal

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