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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. march — the month
  6. cell — in biology
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a line of people
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — a contest
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. cell — a phone
  13. march — the month
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. press — to push
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. march — music
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — a publisher
  20. kid — child
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. race — the arms race
  23. vault — a safe
  24. file — a tool

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