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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. vault — a safe
  7. mate — to breed
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pitch — completely
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. craft — boats
  21. craft — a skill
  22. mate — a partner
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. wind — moving air

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