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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. vault — a safe
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. degree — an amount
  14. saw — the tool
  15. court — of a king
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. suit — in cards
  18. court — of law
  19. kid — to tease
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. suit — to fit
  23. suit — clothes
  24. court — for sport

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