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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. vault — a safe
  7. content — the amount
  8. clip — a video
  9. root — of a word
  10. scale — in music
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a document
  13. kid — to tease
  14. scale — size or range
  15. content — happy
  16. clip — for paper
  17. root — the cause
  18. clip — to cut
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. root — of a plant
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. lie — to recline
  24. file — a line of people

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