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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 116 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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  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. hand — in cards
  2. press — a publisher
  3. kid — child
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. content — happy
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. vault — a safe
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. ball — a dance
  13. hand — help
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. content — the amount
  16. press — to push
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. ball — a great time
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cell — in biology
  23. press — newspapers
  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