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

Word bank: face · ball · can · clip · vault · cold · content · root

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. clip — to cut
  5. root — the cause
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ball — a dance
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — happy
  13. can — to be able to
  14. face — to confront
  15. root — of a word
  16. vault — a safe
  17. face — to point toward
  18. clip — a video
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. root — of a plant
  21. can — a tin
  22. ball — a great time
  23. face — part of the head
  24. can — a tin

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