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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. file — a line of people
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. vault — a safe
  7. lean — to bend
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — the amount
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. lean — thin
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. content — happy
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. capital — money
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. dip — to sink
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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