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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. spell — a short time
  3. vault — a safe
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. wound — an injury
  7. chair — a leader
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. game — wild animals
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. spell — magic
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. spell — letters
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rock — music
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. game — a match
  24. wound — an injury

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