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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. bound — obliged
  3. season — in sport
  4. bound — tied together
  5. vault — a safe
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a dance
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. shower — to wash
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. season — of the year
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. shower — rain
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. bound — certain

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