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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cap — a hat
  3. board — to get on
  4. court — of law
  5. sharp — clever
  6. vault — a safe
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the sport
  11. board — a committee
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cap — of ice
  19. court — for sport
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. court — of a king
  22. content — the amount
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cap — a lid

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