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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. hand — help
  3. file — a line of people
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. club — for dancing
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. pop — music
  8. ground — crushed
  9. vault — a safe
  10. plane — a tool
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. content — the amount
  13. club — for golf
  14. file — a document
  15. hand — in cards
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. ground — the earth
  18. pop — to visit
  19. ground — a position
  20. file — a tool
  21. club — a group
  22. content — happy
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. plane — in geometry

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