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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. ground — crushed
  4. spell — letters
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. last — to go on
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. spell — a short time
  9. last — final
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. last — finally
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. content — the amount
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. ground — a position
  18. fork — in a road
  19. content — happy
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. spell — magic
  22. ground — the earth
  23. vault — a safe
  24. pitcher — a jug

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