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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. track — a path
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bound — obliged
  8. wind — moving air
  9. snap — to click
  10. game — a match
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. vault — a safe
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — certain
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. track — a song
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rock — a stone
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. rock — 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