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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. ground — the earth
  3. court — of a king
  4. tear — from crying
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — a safe
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — a division
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. kid — to tease
  11. ground — crushed
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. court — of law
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. kid — child
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tube — the underground
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. court — for sport
  22. tear — from crying
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. ground — a position

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