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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — help
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. vault — a safe
  14. saw — the tool
  15. land — a country
  16. saw — the tool
  17. land — ground
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. land — to come down
  22. file — a document
  23. chair — a leader
  24. cabinet — ministers

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