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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 120 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. bear — the animal
  3. spell — magic
  4. file — a document
  5. spell — a short time
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. vault — a safe
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. capital — a city
  14. wind — moving air
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. spell — letters
  18. bear — the animal
  19. wind — moving air
  20. file — a line of people
  21. rule — government
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. file — a tool
  24. capital — money

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