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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. vault — a safe
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. chest — of your body
  6. drill — army training
  7. kick — in football
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. march — the month
  10. drill — a practice
  11. chest — a box
  12. content — the amount
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. march — the month
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. stand — to bear
  17. saw — the tool
  18. drill — the tool
  19. chest — of your body
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. march — music
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. saw — the tool
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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