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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. cap — a hat
  4. march — the month
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. vault — a safe
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. plane — a tool
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. stem — to come from
  12. pound — a weight
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cap — of ice
  16. march — the month
  17. cap — a lid
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. rash — hasty
  21. march — music
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. rash — a series
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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