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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 116 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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. vault — a safe
  3. cell — a phone
  4. file — a line of people
  5. press — a publisher
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. file — a tool
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. press — newspapers
  11. file — a document
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. plane — a tool
  14. shower — rain
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. fall — the season
  22. cell — in biology
  23. shower — to wash
  24. press — to push

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