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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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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: present · rest · mine · pitcher · content · fall · vault · patient

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. content — the amount
  9. rest — what's left
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. present — there
  14. rest — what's left
  15. vault — a safe
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. fall — the season
  18. mine — for digging
  19. present — the time now
  20. fall — to drop
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. present — a gift
  24. rest — a break

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