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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. land — to come down
  3. file — a tool
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. land — a country
  9. kid — child
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. file — a document
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. file — a line of people
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. row — to paddle
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. rock — a stone
  20. rock — music
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. vault — a safe
  23. land — ground
  24. kid — to tease

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