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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. 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. rock — to move gently
  2. drill — army training
  3. rest — a break
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. kid — to tease
  7. race — the arms race
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. rock — music
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. rest — what's left
  14. vault — a safe
  15. race — humankind
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. season — of the year
  18. drill — a practice
  19. season — in sport
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rock — a stone
  22. drill — the tool
  23. race — a contest
  24. 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