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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 120 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: pit · charge · clip · vault · cell · wax · mine · content

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wax — to grow
  4. content — the amount
  5. pit — a hole
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. charge — electricity
  8. content — happy
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. clip — a video
  12. cell — a phone
  13. charge — a price
  14. cell — in biology
  15. clip — to cut
  16. charge — in control
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. pit — in a race
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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