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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. key — the most important part
  4. vault — a safe
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. key — for a lock
  9. key — in music
  10. capital — a city
  11. lean — thin
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. cell — in biology
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. dip — to sink
  16. content — the amount
  17. lean — to bend
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. cell — a phone

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