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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. mate — a partner
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. ground — crushed
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. vault — a safe
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. mate — to breed
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. spring — of water
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. mate — a friend
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bat — the animal
  23. spring — the season
  24. ground — a position

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