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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 116 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: perch · stock · hand · key · kid · race · rest · vault

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. stock — shares
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. race — a contest
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — what's left
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. vault — a safe
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. kid — to tease
  16. key — for a lock
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rest — a break
  19. perch — the fish
  20. key — in music
  21. kid — child
  22. stock — goods
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — humankind

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