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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. key — in music
  3. can — a tin
  4. content — happy
  5. cold — not warm
  6. content — the amount
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. vault — a safe
  10. lean — to bend
  11. can — a tin
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — the most important part
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. lean — thin
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pop — soda
  19. can — to be able to
  20. cold — an illness
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. pop — music
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. content — videos and posts

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