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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 116 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. squash — the sport
  3. tear — to rip
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. drill — a practice
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. mate — a friend
  8. race — humankind
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. drill — army training
  11. cold — not warm
  12. scale — in music
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. vault — a safe
  15. tear — from crying
  16. squash — to crush
  17. tear — from crying
  18. scale — size or range
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — to breed
  21. drill — the tool
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — a contest
  24. scale — for weighing

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