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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. vault — a safe
  3. race — humankind
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. drill — army training
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. date — the fruit
  13. track — to keep track
  14. track — a song
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bark — to shout
  17. race — a contest
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. chair — a leader
  24. race — the arms race

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