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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. lie — to recline
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — happy
  10. vault — a safe
  11. content — the amount
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. net — after costs
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. game — a match
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. net — in sport
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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