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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. roll — a list
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. season — in sport
  5. present — the time now
  6. march — the month
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. cell — in biology
  9. march — the month
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. present — a gift
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. roll — a cake
  16. march — music
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. cell — a phone
  19. season — of the year
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. present — there
  23. file — a line of people
  24. kid — child

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