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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. content — happy
  3. net — after costs
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. vault — a safe
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. net — in sport
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. content — the amount
  13. rush — hurry
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. pitch — completely
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. tube — a container
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. net — for catching
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. perch — the fish
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. tube — in a tire

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