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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. chest — of your body
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. track — a path
  7. capital — money
  8. chest — a box
  9. track — to keep track
  10. vault — a safe
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a line of people
  14. sharp — clever
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. date — the fruit
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. capital — a city
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. track — a song
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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