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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 120 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: deal · kid · squash · bat · race · vault · chair · pitcher

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. race — a contest
  3. deal — to handle
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — humankind
  9. kid — child
  10. chair — a leader
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. squash — the sport
  13. bat — the animal
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. vault — a safe
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. kid — to tease
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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