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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. vault — a safe
  4. spell — magic
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. spell — letters
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. face — part of the head
  10. spell — a short time
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. face — to point toward
  15. net — for catching
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. dip — to sink
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. cell — a phone
  20. content — the amount
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. face — to confront
  23. content — happy
  24. cell — in biology

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