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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. vault — a safe
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. content — happy
  6. fall — the season
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. content — the amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. fall — to drop
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. ball — a great time
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. ball — a dance
  22. deal — to handle
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — a jug

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