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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. vault — a safe
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. cell — a phone
  7. race — humankind
  8. file — a document
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. stand — to bear
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. file — a tool
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. file — a line of people
  18. mug — a face
  19. mug — a cup
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bat — the animal
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. mug — to rob

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