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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. press — to push
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. vault — a safe
  7. track — a song
  8. lean — thin
  9. file — a line of people
  10. object — to protest
  11. file — a document
  12. press — a publisher
  13. lean — to bend
  14. file — a tool
  15. object — an aim
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. track — a path
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. object — a thing
  22. press — newspapers
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a leader

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