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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. last — to go on
  5. roll — a cake
  6. last — finally
  7. vault — a safe
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. content — the amount
  10. shower — to wash
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bass — the fish
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — rain
  17. bass — low music
  18. content — happy
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. roll — a list
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. last — final
  23. game — a match
  24. arm — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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