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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — happy
  4. march — music
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. march — the month
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mine — for digging
  10. vault — a safe
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cell — a phone
  13. content — the amount
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. cell — in biology

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