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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — a stone
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. key — in music
  9. lean — to bend
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — a safe
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. kid — to tease
  15. lean — thin
  16. key — for a lock
  17. content — the amount
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. content — happy
  20. pitch — completely
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. key — the most important part
  23. rock — music
  24. kid — child

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