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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. vault — a safe
  3. last — final
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. last — finally
  7. file — a line of people
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bound — certain
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a tool
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. last — to go on
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. press — a publisher
  16. bound — obliged
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bound — tied together
  20. chest — a box
  21. press — to push
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. press — newspapers
  24. fan — a supporter

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