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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. tube — the underground
  3. club — a group
  4. snap — to click
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. shower — to wash
  11. club — for golf
  12. squash — the sport
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. shower — rain
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. tube — a container
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. club — for dancing
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. trunk — of a tree

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