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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. vault — a safe
  3. field — a subject
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. rule — government
  6. field — for sport
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. kid — child
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. field — farmland
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. toast — bread
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. sharp — clever
  19. rule — a law
  20. file — a document
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. kid — to tease
  24. file — a tool

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