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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 120 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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a line
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. file — a tool
  10. press — newspapers
  11. chair — a leader
  12. lean — thin
  13. press — to push
  14. press — a publisher
  15. lean — to bend
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. file — a line of people
  19. march — music
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. file — a document

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