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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. ground — a position
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. land — ground
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. wake — a trail
  8. land — to come down
  9. ground — crushed
  10. vault — a safe
  11. content — the amount
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. ground — the earth
  15. clip — a video
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — hasty
  18. content — happy
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. land — a country
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. clip — to cut
  24. nail — on a finger

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