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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: vault · trunk · bat · cell · stem · hide

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. stem — to come from
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cell — in biology
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. vault — a safe
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. hide — animal skin

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