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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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Word bank
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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: cue · trunk · band · chip · bat · game · vault · file

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. trunk — of a car
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. cue — for pool
  4. cue — a signal
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. chip — to eat
  7. band — a music group
  8. file — a tool
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — a safe
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. file — a line of people
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. band — a ring
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. cue — a hint
  22. game — a match
  23. file — a document
  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