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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. squash — to crush
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. face — part of the head
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. squash — the sport
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. content — the amount
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — to point toward
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. vault — a safe
  24. trunk — of a tree

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