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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — humankind
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. prune — to trim
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. track — to keep track
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. track — a path
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. track — a song
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mine — for digging
  16. capital — money
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. prune — to trim
  21. race — the arms race
  22. vault — a safe
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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