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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: game · vault · rule · content · dip · jam · cap · cold

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. content — happy
  3. cap — a lid
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. cold — an illness
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. dip — to sink
  9. vault — a safe
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cap — a hat
  15. game — a match
  16. game — wild animals
  17. rule — a law
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. content — the amount
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cap — of ice

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