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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. press — to push
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. press — newspapers
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. band — a ring
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bound — tied together
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. press — a publisher
  16. vault — a safe
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bound — certain
  19. band — a music group
  20. bound — obliged
  21. pit — a hole
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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