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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: stick · rock · straw · tube · chest · vault · trunk · cell

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. vault — a safe
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. chest — of your body
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. chest — a box
  13. rock — music
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. rock — a stone
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. cell — a phone
  19. tube — a container
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. cell — in biology
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. chest — of your body

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