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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 124 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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. kid — child
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. land — to come down
  6. scale — size or range
  7. vault — a safe
  8. cell — a phone
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. land — ground
  11. kid — to tease
  12. scale — in music
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. cell — in biology
  15. ground — crushed
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. ground — a position
  18. land — a country
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. ground — the earth

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