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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: squash · wound · chest · season · vault · last · hand · content

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. squash — to crush
  3. last — to go on
  4. vault — a safe
  5. wound — an injury
  6. squash — the sport
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. season — of the year
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. hand — in cards
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wound — an injury
  16. content — happy
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. last — finally
  19. season — in sport
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. chest — a box
  22. content — the amount
  23. last — final
  24. hand — help

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