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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 116 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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. bound — obliged
  3. mug — a cup
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mug — a face
  9. cold — not warm
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. mug — to rob
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. vault — a safe
  14. cold — an illness
  15. lean — thin
  16. bound — tied together
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — to bend
  19. row — a line
  20. kick — in football
  21. file — a document
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bound — certain

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