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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 120 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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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. hand — help
  4. vault — a safe
  5. rest — what's left
  6. hand — in cards
  7. rest — a break
  8. ground — the earth
  9. kid — to tease
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. ground — crushed
  13. rest — what's left
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of law
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. kid — child
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. court — of a king
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. wind — moving air
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. mine — for digging

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