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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. race — humankind
  5. shower — to wash
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. shower — rain
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. cap — a hat
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cap — a lid
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a great time
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. cap — of ice
  22. vault — a safe
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. date — the fruit

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