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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: pit · fan · bay · straw · vault · cell · lean · row

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. vault — a safe
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. row — to paddle
  13. cell — in biology
  14. lean — to bend
  15. row — a line
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. pit — a hole
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. pit — in a race
  24. lean — thin

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