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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. shower — to wash
  3. vault — a safe
  4. wound — an injury
  5. content — the amount
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. ground — a position
  8. clip — to cut
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. clip — for paper
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. clip — a video
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. wound — an injury
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. rock — a stone
  18. ground — the earth
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. content — happy
  22. rock — music
  23. ground — crushed
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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