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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. cell — a phone
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. season — in sport
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. object — to protest
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. file — a tool
  13. bat — the animal
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. file — a document
  17. object — an aim
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. tear — to rip
  20. vault — a safe
  21. tear — from crying
  22. season — of the year
  23. tear — from crying
  24. file — a line of people

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