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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: cell · stick · vault · content · march · craft · patient · ground

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. craft — a skill
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. ground — the earth
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cell — a phone
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. content — happy
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. vault — a safe
  14. ground — a position
  15. march — music
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. march — the month
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. craft — boats
  21. ground — crushed
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. march — the month
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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