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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. kid — child
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. row — a line
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. charge — in control
  8. row — to paddle
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — money
  12. game — a match
  13. charge — electricity
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. spell — a short time
  17. charge — a price
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. spell — magic
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. game — wild animals
  23. spell — letters
  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