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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. content — the amount
  4. file — a line of people
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. content — happy
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. land — to come down
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. vault — a safe
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. land — a country
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. dip — to sink
  20. perch — the fish
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. patient — a sick person

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