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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: trunk · cabinet · chair · field · kid · vault · club · pound

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. kid — child
  3. club — for dancing
  4. field — a subject
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. field — farmland
  8. club — a group
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. field — for sport
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. club — for golf
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. vault — a safe
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. pound — a weight
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cabinet — ministers

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