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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. clip — for paper
  3. ball — a great time
  4. file — a tool
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. clip — to cut
  7. file — a document
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. vault — a safe
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. ball — a dance
  13. clip — a video
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. row — to paddle
  20. rest — what's left
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. file — a line of people
  24. row — a line

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