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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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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: vault · cold · mouse · ruler · fine · kid · nail · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. content — the amount
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. kid — to tease
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. fine — high quality
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. vault — a safe
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. kid — child
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fine — all right

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