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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. press — a publisher
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. pound — a weight
  5. firm — a company
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. press — to push
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. firm — decided
  10. press — newspapers
  11. mine — for digging
  12. spell — letters
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. spell — a short time
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. firm — steady
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. spell — magic
  24. temple — side of the head

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