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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rush — hurry
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. mate — a friend
  7. season — in sport
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. vault — a safe
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bat — the animal
  13. file — a document
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. season — of the year
  16. branch — a division
  17. mate — a partner
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. mate — to breed
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. branch — of a bank

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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