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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — a friend
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. hand — in cards
  7. root — of a word
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. spring — of water
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bat — the animal
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. root — the cause
  16. hand — help
  17. mate — to breed
  18. spring — the season
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. spring — a coil
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. root — of a plant

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