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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: vault · racket · kid · track · cold · hand · fine · jam

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. track — a song
  4. hand — help
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. kid — to tease
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. fine — high quality
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — child
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. hand — in cards
  15. track — a path
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fine — all right
  20. vault — a safe
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. track — to keep track

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