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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. file — a document
  3. capital — a city
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. present — the time now
  9. track — a path
  10. present — there
  11. track — a song
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. file — a line of people
  15. lean — to bend
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. track — to keep track
  18. vault — a safe
  19. file — a tool
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. hand — in cards
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. present — a gift

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