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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 120 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. pit — a hole
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. pit — in a race
  8. chest — a box
  9. bulb — for light
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bulb — for light
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. vault — a safe
  23. cell — a phone
  24. shower — rain

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