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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  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. content — the amount
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bore — to tire
  4. field — a subject
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. bore — to drill
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. field — farmland
  13. cold — not warm
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fine — all right
  18. content — happy
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. field — for sport
  21. pass — a permit
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. pass — to succeed
  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