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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — obliged
  8. season — in sport
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bound — certain
  11. season — of the year
  12. bass — low music
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. content — the amount
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. content — happy
  22. bass — the fish
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. racket — for tennis

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