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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chip — to eat
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. vault — a safe
  9. wound — an injury
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. cell — in biology
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. file — a line of people
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. file — a tool
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. lean — thin
  19. bear — the animal
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. file — a document
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bear — the animal
  24. chip — for betting

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