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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. file — a document
  4. mug — a face
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mine — for digging
  7. snap — to click
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. cold — not warm
  14. vault — a safe
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. file — a tool
  18. mug — a cup
  19. spell — letters
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. spell — a short time
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. file — a line of people
  24. spell — magic

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