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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. file — a document
  5. key — for a lock
  6. chair — a leader
  7. vault — a safe
  8. key — the most important part
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. file — a line of people
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. fork — in a road
  17. bat — the animal
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. fall — to drop
  20. file — a tool
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. key — in music

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