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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  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. kid — child
  2. last — final
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. track — to keep track
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. track — a song
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. kid — to tease
  14. last — finally
  15. stock — goods
  16. vault — a safe
  17. last — to go on
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cue — a hint
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cue — for pool
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. track — a path
  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