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

Word bank: chest · squash · craft · suit · vault · race

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. suit — in cards
  3. chest — of your body
  4. suit — to fit
  5. squash — the sport
  6. vault — a safe
  7. chest — of your body
  8. craft — a skill
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. chest — a box
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. race — the arms race
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. race — humankind
  16. squash — to crush
  17. suit — clothes
  18. race — a contest

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