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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bat — the animal
  4. content — happy
  5. content — the amount
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. cell — a phone
  8. ball — a great time
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. vault — a safe
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ground — a position
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. ball — a dance
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. lie — to recline
  24. ground — crushed

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