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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. content — the amount
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. content — happy
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. cold — not warm
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. bear — the animal
  17. perch — the fish
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. capital — money
  22. cold — an illness
  23. capital — a city
  24. content — videos and posts

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