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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 124 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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  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. jam — a tight spot
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. vault — a safe
  8. mine — for digging
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. file — a tool
  11. wound — an injury
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bulb — for light
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bulb — for light
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  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