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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 120 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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Word bank
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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 · mine · field · court · rush · tear · kid · mouse

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. court — for sport
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. mine — for digging
  11. rush — hurry
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. tear — from crying
  16. court — of a king
  17. field — a subject
  18. vault — a safe
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. court — of law
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. tear — from crying

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