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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · vault · content · staff · file · bat

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rule — government
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. file — a tool
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. file — a line of people
  8. staff — a stick
  9. file — a document
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. staff — employees
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bat — the animal
  16. content — the amount
  17. staff — employees
  18. content — videos and posts

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