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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 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. pop — music
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. toast — bread
  11. race — humankind
  12. tear — from crying
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. pop — to visit
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. tear — to rip
  18. race — the arms race
  19. pop — soda
  20. tear — from crying
  21. kid — child
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. race — a contest
  24. mine — belonging to me

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