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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. staff — a stick
  3. content — the amount
  4. face — part of the head
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. face — to point toward
  7. season — of the year
  8. spring — the season
  9. staff — employees
  10. content — happy
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. season — in sport
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. spring — of water
  18. staff — employees
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. spring — a coil
  21. face — to confront
  22. bat — the animal
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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