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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. vault — a safe
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bat — the animal
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. date — the fruit
  9. chest — a box
  10. press — to push
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. press — newspapers
  14. board — to get on
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. board — a committee
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. lie — to recline
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bark — to shout
  24. lie — an untruth

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