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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. content — the amount
  3. vault — a safe
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. season — of the year
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. mine — for digging
  8. content — happy
  9. root — of a word
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. root — of a plant
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. deal — to handle
  18. season — in sport
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. root — the cause
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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