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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. land — to come down
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — for betting
  9. content — happy
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. bat — the animal
  12. content — the amount
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. land — ground
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. vault — a safe
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. land — a country
  24. toast — bread

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