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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 116 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. swing — in golf
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. swing — music
  5. face — to confront
  6. vault — a safe
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. content — happy
  10. bark — to shout
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. face — part of the head
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. swing — to play on
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. face — to point toward

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