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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. file — a line of people
  3. file — a tool
  4. present — there
  5. cell — a phone
  6. charge — in control
  7. roll — a list
  8. present — a gift
  9. roll — a cake
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. cold — not warm
  12. net — in sport
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. net — after costs
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — in biology
  17. charge — a price
  18. charge — electricity
  19. cold — an illness
  20. file — a document
  21. vault — a safe
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. net — for catching

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