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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. staff — employees
  4. can — a tin
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — a container
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. current — happening now
  9. staff — employees
  10. can — to be able to
  11. file — a tool
  12. current — electric
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. staff — a stick
  15. current — of water
  16. can — a tin
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cold — not warm
  19. file — a line of people
  20. cold — an illness
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. vault — a safe
  24. file — a document

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