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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. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. content — happy
  5. vault — a safe
  6. clip — for paper
  7. content — the amount
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. land — ground
  10. bat — the animal
  11. land — a country
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — to sink
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. craft — a skill
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. craft — boats
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. foot — a measure
  21. clip — to cut
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. land — to come down
  24. clip — a video

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