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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: straw · wind · staff · mate · pitcher · vault · trunk · tear

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. wind — moving air
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. staff — employees
  6. mate — a partner
  7. vault — a safe
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. tear — from crying
  15. staff — employees
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mate — to breed
  18. staff — a stick
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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