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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. prune — to trim
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. kid — to tease
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. clip — to cut
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. clip — a video
  14. kid — child
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. prune — to trim
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. hand — in cards
  22. clip — for paper
  23. vault — a safe
  24. jam — in traffic

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