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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: clip · content · suit · can · vault · rock · chest · bore

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rock — music
  3. chest — of your body
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. rock — a stone
  7. vault — a safe
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. chest — a box
  12. suit — in cards
  13. chest — of your body
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. clip — a video
  16. can — a tin
  17. content — the amount
  18. suit — clothes
  19. clip — to cut
  20. can — a tin
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bore — to tire
  23. can — to be able to
  24. suit — to fit

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