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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. land — to come down
  5. race — a contest
  6. land — ground
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. spell — letters
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. race — the arms race
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — a short time
  23. race — humankind
  24. land — a country

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