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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. clip — for paper
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. mug — a face
  6. race — the arms race
  7. stock — goods
  8. roll — a list
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. clip — a video
  11. stock — shares
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. mug — a cup
  14. clip — to cut
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. roll — a cake
  21. mug — to rob
  22. kid — to tease
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — a contest

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