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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 120 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. spell — a short time
  5. chair — a leader
  6. spell — letters
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bulb — for light
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. hand — help
  11. file — a tool
  12. pop — to visit
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. spell — magic
  15. bulb — for light
  16. content — the amount
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. file — a line of people
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. pop — music
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. content — happy
  24. file — a document

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