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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · press · leaves · clip · trunk · pitch · content · game

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. press — newspapers
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. vault — a safe
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. clip — to cut
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. press — to push
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. game — wild animals
  18. content — the amount
  19. clip — for paper
  20. game — a match
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. clip — a video
  23. press — a publisher
  24. leaves — to go away

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