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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: pound · trunk · vault · rule · saw · cold · swing · hand

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. swing — in golf
  3. rule — government
  4. cold — an illness
  5. swing — music
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. swing — to play on
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. pound — a weight
  18. vault — a safe
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. rule — a law
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cold — not warm

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