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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. cell — in biology
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. kid — child
  6. saw — the tool
  7. race — humankind
  8. root — the cause
  9. saw — the tool
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. root — of a word
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. race — a contest
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. root — of a plant
  18. race — the arms race
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. cell — a phone
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. vault — a safe
  23. lie — to recline
  24. trunk — of a tree

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