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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 120 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. mate — to breed
  7. vault — a safe
  8. content — the amount
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. game — a match
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rest — what's left
  14. content — happy
  15. mate — a partner
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mate — a friend
  22. rest — a break
  23. game — wild animals
  24. content — videos and posts

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