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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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. can — to be able to
  3. snap — to click
  4. vault — a safe
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. can — a tin
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. spring — a coil
  15. sharp — clever
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. spring — the season
  19. hand — help
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. can — a tin
  23. bat — the animal
  24. spring — of water

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