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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. kick — in football
  3. content — the amount
  4. rule — government
  5. stand — to bear
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. vault — a safe
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. board — a committee
  14. rule — a law
  15. bat — the animal
  16. content — happy
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. board — to get on
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. kick — with a leg

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