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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. land — to come down
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. tear — to rip
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. rest — what's left
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fine — all right
  13. mine — for digging
  14. land — ground
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. content — the amount
  19. fine — high quality
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. land — a country
  24. fall — the season

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