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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. key — in music
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. pop — soda
  5. row — a line
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. pop — to visit
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. file — a document
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. pop — music
  13. vault — a safe
  14. bat — the animal
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. row — to paddle
  17. file — a tool
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. file — a line of people
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. key — the most important part

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