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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. tube — a container
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — humankind
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. net — for catching
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. scale — size or range
  10. vault — a safe
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. cap — a hat
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. mine — for digging
  16. cap — a lid
  17. net — after costs
  18. cap — of ice
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. scale — in music
  22. tube — the underground
  23. race — a contest
  24. straw — dry grass

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