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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: kid · pound · cell · content · rash · coach · net · vault

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. kid — child
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. kid — to tease
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. cell — a phone
  9. content — happy
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. rash — a series
  13. content — the amount
  14. net — after costs
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — in sport
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — hasty
  24. content — videos and posts

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