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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: straw · club · vault · cue · cap · tear · ground · content

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. content — happy
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cue — a hint
  6. ground — crushed
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. cue — a signal
  10. club — a group
  11. cap — of ice
  12. ground — the earth
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ground — a position
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. cap — a lid
  18. club — for golf
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cue — for pool
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. tear — from crying
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. club — for dancing

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