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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: kid · board · band · court · vault · chest · tear · can

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  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. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. chest — of your body
  7. band — a music group
  8. board — a committee
  9. vault — a safe
  10. chest — a box
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. chest — of your body
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — to be able to
  17. court — of law
  18. kid — child
  19. court — of a king
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. can — a tin
  22. court — for sport
  23. board — to get on
  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