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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. vault — a safe
  3. rash — a series
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. file — a tool
  6. cell — a phone
  7. march — the month
  8. race — the arms race
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. cell — in biology
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. march — music
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. march — the month
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. race — humankind
  17. rash — hasty
  18. file — a line of people
  19. race — a contest
  20. file — a document
  21. ball — a dance
  22. chip — for betting
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. ball — a great time

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