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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: squash · mug · vault · chest · kid · race · straw · stock

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. mug — to rob
  3. race — the arms race
  4. mug — a cup
  5. vault — a safe
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. chest — a box
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. mug — a face
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. chest — of your body
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. stock — shares
  17. squash — the sport
  18. race — a contest
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. race — humankind
  22. stock — goods
  23. squash — to crush
  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