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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. last — to go on
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to click
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. club — a group
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. last — finally
  11. race — a contest
  12. vault — a safe
  13. race — humankind
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. last — final
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bat — the animal

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