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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bank — of a river
  4. chest — of your body
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. vault — a safe
  7. bank — for money
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cue — for pool
  10. chest — a box
  11. content — happy
  12. content — the amount
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cue — a hint
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. squash — the sport
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bank — for money
  20. cue — a signal
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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