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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: chest · saw · tear · track · bound · kid · vault · mug

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. kid — child
  3. tear — to rip
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. mug — a face
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mug — to rob
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bound — tied together
  11. chest — of your body
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. bound — certain
  14. chest — a box
  15. track — a path
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mug — a cup
  18. bound — obliged
  19. vault — a safe
  20. saw — the tool
  21. track — to keep track
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. kid — to tease
  24. chest — of your body

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