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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. land — to come down
  3. staff — employees
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. file — a tool
  6. swing — to play on
  7. spring — of water
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. roll — a cake
  10. file — a line of people
  11. vault — a safe
  12. staff — a stick
  13. land — a country
  14. spring — the season
  15. roll — a list
  16. land — ground
  17. staff — employees
  18. content — happy
  19. spring — a coil
  20. content — the amount
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. swing — music
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. swing — in golf

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