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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: bear · vault · rule · game · content · toast · pitcher · pit

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — a law
  4. toast — bread
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. game — wild animals
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bear — the animal
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. content — happy
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. vault — a safe
  14. content — the amount
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. game — a match
  20. pit — a hole
  21. pit — in a race
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. bear — the animal

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