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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 120 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. rest — what's left
  3. vault — a safe
  4. content — happy
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. rest — what's left
  8. game — wild animals
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. rest — a break
  14. stock — shares
  15. tube — the underground
  16. game — a match
  17. stock — goods
  18. content — the amount
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. tube — a container
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. squash — to crush

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