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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. object — to protest
  4. tear — to rip
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. object — a thing
  7. kid — child
  8. tear — from crying
  9. object — an aim
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. squash — to crush
  14. spring — of water
  15. vault — a safe
  16. spring — the season
  17. tear — from crying
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cell — a phone
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cell — in biology

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