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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — in sport
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. fall — to drop
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. cap — of ice
  10. content — happy
  11. cap — a hat
  12. court — of law
  13. vault — a safe
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. cap — a lid
  16. chair — a leader
  17. fall — to drop
  18. net — after costs
  19. court — of a king
  20. fall — the season
  21. court — for sport
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — a grade
  24. content — the amount

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