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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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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. squash — to crush
  5. kid — child
  6. court — of law
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. court — for sport
  10. pound — a weight
  11. clip — to cut
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. kid — to tease
  14. clip — for paper
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chip — for betting
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. clip — a video
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. squash — the sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. vault — a safe
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. chip — in a computer

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