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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. vault — a safe
  7. field — for sport
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. suit — in cards
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. game — wild animals
  13. dip — to sink
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. suit — to fit
  18. field — a subject
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. game — a match
  22. suit — clothes
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. field — farmland

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