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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 116 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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. 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. row — a quarrel
  2. vault — a safe
  3. race — the arms race
  4. drill — the tool
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. race — a contest
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a trace
  10. spell — magic
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. spell — a short time
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a line
  15. spell — letters
  16. race — humankind
  17. wind — moving air
  18. drill — army training
  19. mark — a grade
  20. drill — a practice
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. 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