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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. vault — a safe
  3. race — a contest
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. pass — a permit
  6. file — a tool
  7. race — the arms race
  8. file — a document
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. roll — a list
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. file — a line of people
  17. club — for golf
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. roll — a cake
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. club — a group
  23. club — for dancing
  24. cold — not warm

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