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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. file — a tool
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. chair — a leader
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. sharp — clever
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. mine — for digging
  11. file — a line of people
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. file — a document
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. vault — a safe
  24. kid — child

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