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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  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. snap — to speak sharply
  2. ground — crushed
  3. mate — a partner
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — in a race
  7. vault — a safe
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. mate — a friend
  14. content — happy
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. content — the amount
  18. snap — to click
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. mate — to breed
  21. ground — a position
  22. field — for sport
  23. ground — the earth
  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