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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: kid · fan · spring · vault · content · mate · toast · chip

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. mate — a friend
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. spring — the season
  5. kid — to tease
  6. vault — a safe
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. chip — for betting
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. toast — bread
  13. content — happy
  14. mate — a partner
  15. content — the amount
  16. kid — child
  17. chip — to eat
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. spring — a coil
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. spring — of water
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. mate — to breed

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