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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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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 · suit · rash · mine · cue · bat · kid · toast

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cue — a hint
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. rash — a series
  10. vault — a safe
  11. suit — to fit
  12. suit — clothes
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. cue — a signal
  15. mine — for digging
  16. toast — bread
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. suit — in cards
  23. cue — for pool
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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