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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. roll — a list
  3. vault — a safe
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — happy
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. roll — a cake
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. date — the fruit
  14. bat — the animal
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. game — a match
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — certain
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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