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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: vault · bowl · cell · club · rule · hide · squash · content

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. rule — a law
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. cell — in biology
  9. vault — a safe
  10. club — for golf
  11. squash — the sport
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. rule — government
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. content — happy
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. club — a group
  21. squash — to crush
  22. cell — a phone
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. club — for dancing

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