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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. content — happy
  3. file — a document
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. mine — for digging
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. spring — the season
  12. vault — a safe
  13. suit — in cards
  14. content — the amount
  15. file — a line of people
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. toast — bread
  19. squash — the sport
  20. spring — of water
  21. suit — clothes
  22. suit — to fit
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. file — a tool

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