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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. content — happy
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. vault — a safe
  6. fall — the season
  7. chair — a leader
  8. content — the amount
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. net — after costs
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. net — in sport
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. fall — to drop
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. fall — to drop
  20. rash — hasty
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. rash — a series

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