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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 124 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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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. rush — a thrill
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fork — in a road
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. race — the arms race
  6. kid — to tease
  7. race — a contest
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. squash — to crush
  11. race — humankind
  12. vault — a safe
  13. saw — the tool
  14. squash — the sport
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. saw — the tool
  17. kid — child
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. rush — hurry
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — the season
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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