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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. race — humankind
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. squash — the sport
  9. kid — to tease
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. game — wild animals
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bark — to shout
  21. vault — a safe
  22. rash — a series
  23. game — a match
  24. squash — to crush

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