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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 · mark · content · rest · rule · kid · season · hide

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. kid — to tease
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. season — in sport
  6. kid — child
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. vault — a safe
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. content — happy
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. mark — a grade
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. rule — a law
  19. content — the amount
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. rule — government
  23. season — of the year
  24. mark — a trace

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