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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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Word bank
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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. mate — a partner
  3. chest — of your body
  4. content — happy
  5. file — a document
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. file — a tool
  9. mate — to breed
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. mate — a friend
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. cell — in biology
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. cell — a phone
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. content — the amount
  22. vault — a safe
  23. lie — to recline
  24. file — a line of people

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