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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. fine — all right
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. vault — a safe
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. court — of law
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. content — the amount
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. content — happy
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. cap — a hat
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — music
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — for sport
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — of ice

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