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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  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. ground — crushed
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. tear — from crying
  4. ground — a position
  5. court — of law
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. content — the amount
  10. ground — the earth
  11. tear — to rip
  12. saw — the tool
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. content — happy
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. kick — in football
  20. saw — the tool
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. tear — from crying
  23. vault — a safe
  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