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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. season — in sport
  5. vault — a safe
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. firm — a company
  8. hand — in cards
  9. firm — steady
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. degree — from a university
  14. season — of the year
  15. rock — music
  16. degree — temperature
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. degree — an amount
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. bat — the animal
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. firm — decided
  24. season — to add flavour

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