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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bat — the animal
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rest — what's left
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. vault — a safe
  12. rash — hasty
  13. press — a publisher
  14. file — a tool
  15. rest — a break
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. press — to push
  19. press — newspapers
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a line of people
  22. deal — to handle
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. rash — a series

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