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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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. vault — a safe
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. wind — moving air
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. race — humankind
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. wind — moving air
  21. tube — the underground
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. tube — a container

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