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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  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. vault — a safe
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. mine — for digging
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. scale — size or range
  6. club — for dancing
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. rule — a law
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cell — a phone
  15. content — happy
  16. cell — in biology
  17. club — a group
  18. scale — in music
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — in sport
  21. club — for golf
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — to rule out
  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