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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: face · vault · content · date · snap · bat · hide · prune

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. content — the amount
  10. face — part of the head
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. content — happy
  16. snap — to click
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. face — to confront
  20. bat — the animal
  21. face — to point toward
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. date — the fruit
  24. vault — a safe

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