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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: race · jam · rule · sharp · vault · fan · kid · mine

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. vault — a safe
  4. kid — to tease
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. race — the arms race
  8. rule — government
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. race — humankind
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. race — a contest
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. rule — a law
  23. sharp — clever
  24. mine — for digging

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