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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.

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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. vault — a safe
  3. craft — boats
  4. land — to come down
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. land — ground
  7. race — a contest
  8. scale — size or range
  9. land — a country
  10. capital — a city
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — in music
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. craft — a skill
  16. hand — help
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. race — the arms race
  19. hand — in cards
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. capital — money
  22. race — humankind
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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