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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. shower — to wash
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. shower — rain
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. vault — a safe
  8. lie — to recline
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. net — after costs
  11. content — happy
  12. squash — the sport
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — government
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. content — the amount
  18. cold — not warm
  19. net — in sport
  20. squash — to crush
  21. net — for catching
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. rule — a law
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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