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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. spell — magic
  3. cap — a hat
  4. hand — in cards
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. cap — of ice
  7. tube — the underground
  8. vault — a safe
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. file — a tool
  11. spell — letters
  12. tube — a container
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. file — a line of people
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bark — to shout
  17. file — a document
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cap — a lid
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. spell — a short time
  24. rush — hurry

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