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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: content · vault · cap · last · hand · wake · rock · pop

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cap — a lid
  3. content — the amount
  4. rock — music
  5. pop — soda
  6. last — to go on
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wake — a trail
  10. last — final
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — of ice
  15. last — finally
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — help
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. hand — in cards
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. pop — music
  22. rock — a stone
  23. vault — a safe
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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