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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rule — a law
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. race — the arms race
  10. swing — in golf
  11. field — for sport
  12. rule — government
  13. shower — to wash
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — happy
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — music
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. race — a contest
  20. vault — a safe
  21. field — a subject
  22. race — humankind
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. field — farmland

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