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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. field — a subject
  3. cue — for pool
  4. cue — a signal
  5. vault — a safe
  6. race — humankind
  7. cue — a hint
  8. race — the arms race
  9. wind — moving air
  10. field — for sport
  11. clip — a video
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. wind — moving air
  14. clip — for paper
  15. field — farmland
  16. clip — to cut
  17. race — a contest
  18. wind — to turn a key

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