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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. bulb — for light
  3. spring — the season
  4. present — there
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. present — a gift
  7. file — a tool
  8. date — the fruit
  9. chip — for betting
  10. fine — high quality
  11. file — a document
  12. spring — of water
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. chip — to eat
  16. bulb — for light
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. spring — a coil
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. present — the time now
  24. vault — a safe

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