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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: bat · shower · trunk · ground · clip · vault · rule · swing

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. bat — the animal
  3. ground — the earth
  4. rule — government
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. clip — for paper
  8. rule — a law
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. vault — a safe
  14. swing — music
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. clip — a video
  17. shower — rain
  18. swing — in golf
  19. ground — a position
  20. swing — to play on
  21. clip — to cut
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. ground — crushed
  24. trunk — of a car

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