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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. cold — an illness
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. stand — to bear
  5. file — a line of people
  6. chip — to eat
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. vault — a safe
  9. land — to come down
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. cold — not warm
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. land — a country
  14. plane — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. land — ground
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. file — a tool
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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