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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. mine — for digging
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. cue — a hint
  6. present — a gift
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. band — a ring
  9. race — the arms race
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cue — a signal
  13. band — a music group
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. present — there
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — a safe
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. cue — for pool
  23. present — the time now
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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