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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cap — a hat
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. file — a tool
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bass — the fish
  11. cap — of ice
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bulb — for light
  14. vault — a safe
  15. file — a document
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. cap — a lid
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. bass — low music
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bulb — for light
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. arm — part of the body

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