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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: race · rash · jam · land · content · vault · club · kid

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. race — humankind
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. club — for dancing
  7. rash — a series
  8. land — a country
  9. vault — a safe
  10. content — happy
  11. rash — hasty
  12. content — the amount
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. race — a contest
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. race — the arms race
  19. club — a group
  20. land — to come down
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. land — ground

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