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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 120 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bass — low music
  3. scale — size or range
  4. vault — a safe
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bass — the fish
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. court — of a king
  9. content — the amount
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bound — certain
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. court — of law
  19. scale — in music
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. bound — tied together
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bound — obliged
  24. court — for sport

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