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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: face · temple · content · staff · chest · row · wave · vault

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. staff — employees
  3. content — happy
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. face — to confront
  10. chest — a box
  11. face — part of the head
  12. staff — a stick
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. staff — employees
  16. row — a line
  17. chest — of your body
  18. vault — a safe
  19. face — to point toward
  20. row — to paddle
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. content — the amount
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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