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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. vault — a safe
  4. row — a line
  5. court — of a king
  6. pop — music
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. degree — an amount
  10. race — a contest
  11. squash — to crush
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wound — an injury
  14. court — for sport
  15. degree — temperature
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. pop — to visit
  20. squash — the sport
  21. race — humankind
  22. court — of law
  23. race — the arms race
  24. pop — soda

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