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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. wind — moving air
  3. vault — a safe
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — crushed
  6. fall — the season
  7. file — a line of people
  8. fall — to drop
  9. file — a tool
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. ground — the earth
  19. file — a document
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bat — the animal
  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