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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. capital — money
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. perch — the fish
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. pit — in a race
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — for catching
  15. pit — a hole
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. content — the amount
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. capital — a city
  20. net — in sport
  21. bore — to drill
  22. vault — a safe
  23. bore — to tire
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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