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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 120 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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. net — after costs
  4. fall — the season
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. fall — to drop
  7. band — a music group
  8. net — for catching
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. net — in sport
  11. content — the amount
  12. cold — an illness
  13. vault — a safe
  14. fall — to drop
  15. band — a ring
  16. content — happy
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. cold — not warm

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