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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. land — ground
  3. season — of the year
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. file — a line of people
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. season — in sport
  8. saw — the tool
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. land — to come down
  11. face — to point toward
  12. vault — a safe
  13. face — to confront
  14. track — a path
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. land — a country
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. face — part of the head
  20. track — a song
  21. file — a tool
  22. track — to keep track
  23. file — a document
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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