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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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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: wound · temple · season · lie · content · sharp · snap · vault

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. wound — an injury
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. season — in sport
  7. wound — an injury
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. sharp — clever
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. vault — a safe
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. snap — to click
  19. season — of the year
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. lie — to recline
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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