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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a friend
  6. wound — an injury
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. wound — an injury
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — a trace
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. chest — a box
  23. tear — to rip
  24. vault — a safe

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