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

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. fall — to drop
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. fall — the season
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. fall — to drop
  11. vault — a safe
  12. race — humankind
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — a contest
  17. sharp — clever
  18. vault — in gymnastics

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