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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. file — a tool
  3. cell — a phone
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. rock — music
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fine — all right
  8. board — a committee
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. file — a document
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. board — to get on
  18. cell — in biology
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. vault — a safe
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rock — a stone
  24. pitcher — a jug

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