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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. content — happy
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. face — to confront
  6. drill — a practice
  7. snap — to click
  8. face — to point toward
  9. content — the amount
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. deal — to handle
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. drill — army training
  20. cold — an illness
  21. face — part of the head
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. vault — a safe

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