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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. kid — to tease
  3. race — humankind
  4. kid — child
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. mine — for digging
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. spring — of water
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. stock — shares
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — the season
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. stock — goods
  21. race — the arms race
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. race — a contest
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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