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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. rest — what's left
  5. band — a ring
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. content — happy
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. content — the amount
  12. rest — a break
  13. band — a music group
  14. vault — a safe
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. rest — what's left
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. wound — an injury
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. sharp — with an edge

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