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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  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. net — after costs
  2. vault — a safe
  3. shower — rain
  4. spell — letters
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. field — for sport
  8. shower — to wash
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. spell — a short time
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. field — farmland
  18. tube — the underground
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. field — a subject
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. tube — a container
  23. spell — magic
  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