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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 120 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: tear · temple · court · row · cell · bat · trunk · vault

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. vault — a safe
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. court — of law
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. tear — from crying
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cell — a phone
  11. court — of a king
  12. row — a line
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. row — to paddle
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. cell — in biology
  19. court — for sport
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. tear — to rip
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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