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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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. vault — in gymnastics
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. content — the amount
  6. spell — letters
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chip — to eat
  9. mine — for digging
  10. spell — a short time
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chip — for betting
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. vault — a safe
  18. spell — magic
  19. fall — the season
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. fall — to drop

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