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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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468
Word bank
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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. sharp — clever
  2. chest — of your body
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. file — a tool
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. spell — magic
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. file — a line of people
  13. kid — child
  14. lie — to recline
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chest — of your body
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. kid — to tease
  19. chest — a box
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — letters
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. file — a document
  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