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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. content — happy
  3. shower — rain
  4. vault — a safe
  5. content — the amount
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. band — a music group
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. shower — to wash
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — a friend
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. band — a ring
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. lie — to recline
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. mate — to breed
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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