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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. vault — a safe
  4. cue — a hint
  5. rock — a stone
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. cue — for pool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rock — music
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bark — to shout
  14. pit — in a race
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. cue — a signal
  19. pit — a hole
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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