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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: wake · fall · pit · staff · lean · content · vault · racket

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. fall — to drop
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. staff — employees
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. vault — a safe
  9. fall — the season
  10. wake — a trail
  11. staff — a stick
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. lean — to bend
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. pit — in a race
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. pit — a hole
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. fall — to drop
  20. lean — thin
  21. staff — employees
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. wake — before a funeral

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