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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. press — a publisher
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. vault — a safe
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. fork — in a road
  9. march — the month
  10. can — to be able to
  11. march — music
  12. can — a tin
  13. press — to push
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. can — a tin
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. dip — to sink
  18. march — the month
  19. content — the amount
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. press — newspapers
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. content — videos and posts

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