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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. band — a ring
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. cell — in biology
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. content — happy
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. content — the amount
  12. vault — a safe
  13. object — to protest
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. band — a music group
  18. object — a thing
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. object — an aim
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. band — a rubber band
  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