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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bear — the animal
  9. content — the amount
  10. wound — an injury
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. vault — a safe
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. pitch — completely
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bear — the animal
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. wound — an injury
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bear — to put up with

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