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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. firm — a company
  3. game — a match
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. kid — child
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. land — to come down
  11. game — wild animals
  12. firm — decided
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. firm — steady
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. pit — in a race
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. kid — to tease

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