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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bound — obliged
  4. saw — the tool
  5. staff — employees
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. bound — tied together
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. saw — the tool
  15. deal — to handle
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a tool
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. vault — a safe
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. bound — certain
  24. staff — a stick

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