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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: vault · chest · wound · last · content · spring · pass · mug

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. last — to go on
  4. spring — a coil
  5. mug — to rob
  6. content — happy
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. chest — a box
  10. spring — the season
  11. mug — a cup
  12. pass — a permit
  13. mug — a face
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chest — of your body
  18. vault — a safe
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. chest — of your body
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. spring — of water
  23. last — final
  24. content — the amount

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