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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. lean — thin
  3. pit — a hole
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. content — the amount
  8. clip — for paper
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. clip — a video
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. march — the month
  13. board — a committee
  14. vault — a safe
  15. lean — to bend
  16. march — the month
  17. clip — to cut
  18. pit — in a race
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. board — to get on
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. march — music
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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