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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. vault — a safe
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. stem — to come from
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — a leader
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rock — music
  13. bat — the animal
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — of ice
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. shower — rain
  24. cap — a hat

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