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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — letters
  4. present — the time now
  5. prune — to trim
  6. present — a gift
  7. content — the amount
  8. prune — to trim
  9. vault — a safe
  10. spell — a short time
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. present — there
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. arm — a part of something

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