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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: cell · stock · content · vault · chest · hide · mine · bore

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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. mine — for digging
  4. bore — to drill
  5. stock — shares
  6. cell — a phone
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bore — to tire
  10. stock — goods
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. content — the amount
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. chest — of your body
  19. vault — a safe
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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