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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. file — a document
  3. bear — the animal
  4. present — the time now
  5. cold — an illness
  6. lean — to bend
  7. vault — a safe
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. lean — thin
  15. hand — in cards
  16. press — to push
  17. press — newspapers
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. press — a publisher
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — there

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