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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rash — a series
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. vault — a safe
  5. chest — of your body
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. game — wild animals
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. game — a match
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a dance
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. content — the amount
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. ball — a great time
  19. chest — a box
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. game — a kind of play

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