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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.

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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. key — for a lock
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. cell — a phone
  8. key — in music
  9. key — the most important part
  10. rash — a series
  11. cell — in biology
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. current — of water
  14. vault — a safe
  15. current — happening now
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. tube — a container
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. rash — hasty
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. current — electric
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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