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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 120 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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. tube — a container
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. march — music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. vault — a safe
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. race — a contest
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bat — the animal
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. march — the month
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. march — the month
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bat — for baseball

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