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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: chest · mate · bat · bore · vault · land · trunk · dip

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. land — ground
  5. dip — to sink
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chest — of your body
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — a partner
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. bore — to drill
  14. land — a country
  15. vault — a safe
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. land — to come down
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mate — to breed

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