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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: last · cell · vault · trunk · row · bear

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. last — finally
  3. last — final
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. vault — a safe
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. row — a line
  17. last — to go on
  18. row — to paddle

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