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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. vault — a safe
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. row — a line
  12. spell — magic
  13. mate — to breed
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. mate — a partner
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. spell — letters
  19. craft — a skill
  20. spell — a short time
  21. kick — in football
  22. mate — a friend
  23. row — to paddle
  24. kick — a thrill

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