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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.

Make a worksheet

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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. land — to come down
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. plane — a tool
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. fine — all right
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. last — final
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. fine — high quality
  12. degree — temperature
  13. last — finally
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. vault — a safe
  16. degree — an amount
  17. last — to go on
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. content — the amount
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. land — a country
  23. degree — from a university
  24. land — ground

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