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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. lean — thin
  3. snap — to click
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. vault — a safe
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. pop — music
  10. chair — a leader
  11. field — a subject
  12. lean — to bend
  13. field — for sport
  14. pop — soda
  15. content — the amount
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pop — to visit
  18. mate — a friend
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. content — happy
  22. field — farmland
  23. mate — a partner
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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