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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. vault — a safe
  3. present — a gift
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. clip — for paper
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. content — the amount
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. pound — a weight
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — happy
  14. clip — a video
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. clip — to cut
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. present — there
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. present — the time now

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