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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: wound · present · last · vault · pitch · kick · ball · content

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. present — the time now
  3. ball — a great time
  4. wound — an injury
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. last — finally
  10. present — a gift
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — a safe
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — final
  18. pitch — completely
  19. present — there
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. kick — in football
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. content — the amount
  24. wound — an injury

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