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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. last — final
  4. wind — moving air
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. wind — moving air
  9. track — a song
  10. cue — a hint
  11. vault — a safe
  12. content — the amount
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. cue — for pool
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. track — to keep track
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. last — finally
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. last — to go on
  23. cue — a signal
  24. track — a path

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