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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. land — to come down
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. race — a contest
  5. kid — to tease
  6. shower — to wash
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. chair — a leader
  11. race — humankind
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. race — the arms race
  14. land — a country
  15. kid — child
  16. land — ground
  17. shower — rain
  18. track — a song
  19. track — to keep track
  20. season — in sport
  21. track — a path
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. season — of the year
  24. vault — a safe

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