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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 124 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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. press — newspapers
  5. file — a tool
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. roll — a list
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. plane — a tool
  12. field — for sport
  13. file — a document
  14. roll — a cake
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. press — to push
  17. field — farmland
  18. press — a publisher
  19. cold — an illness
  20. file — a line of people
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. field — a subject
  23. cold — not warm
  24. vault — a safe

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