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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rule — a law
  4. field — a subject
  5. rule — government
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. rash — a series
  8. vault — a safe
  9. plane — a tool
  10. roll — a list
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. field — farmland
  13. content — the amount
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. content — happy
  16. field — for sport
  17. roll — a cake
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. fall — the season
  24. plane — in geometry

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