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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. content — the amount
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. rush — hurry
  5. content — happy
  6. pitch — completely
  7. kid — child
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. race — a contest
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. kid — to tease
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. field — for sport
  17. race — the arms race
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. race — humankind
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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