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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — a short time
  4. rock — music
  5. vault — a safe
  6. file — a document
  7. pit — a hole
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. rock — a stone
  10. row — a line
  11. lie — to recline
  12. pit — in a race
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. file — a tool
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. file — a line of people
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bat — the animal
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. spell — letters
  24. row — to paddle

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