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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · vault · bat · patient · key · pound

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. vault — a safe
  3. pound — a weight
  4. bat — the animal
  5. race — a contest
  6. key — the most important part
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. race — humankind
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. race — the arms race
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. key — for a lock
  18. patient — a sick person

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