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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. fall — to drop
  3. content — happy
  4. vault — a safe
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. stock — shares
  9. swing — in golf
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — to come from
  14. fall — the season
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. spell — a short time
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — goods
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. spell — magic
  23. fall — to drop
  24. content — the amount

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