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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. game — a match
  3. content — happy
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. can — a tin
  8. mine — for digging
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. game — wild animals
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. content — the amount
  14. chest — of your body
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. chest — a box
  17. vault — a safe
  18. chest — of your body

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