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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. content — happy
  4. bound — obliged
  5. vault — a safe
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. row — a line
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. kid — to tease
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. content — the amount
  14. bound — certain
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bound — tied together
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. kid — child
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. squash — the sport
  24. row — to paddle

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