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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: rush · cell · bulb · content · wave · vault · fall · net

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. net — for catching
  4. vault — a safe
  5. content — happy
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. fall — the season
  8. rush — hurry
  9. net — in sport
  10. cell — a phone
  11. content — the amount
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bulb — for light
  16. net — after costs
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cell — in biology
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. bulb — for light

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