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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. chest — of your body
  5. land — a country
  6. chest — of your body
  7. date — the fruit
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. vault — a safe
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. rush — hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. chest — a box
  17. land — to come down
  18. file — a document
  19. pass — a permit
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. file — a tool
  22. land — ground
  23. file — a line of people
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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