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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. fall — the season
  3. bass — low music
  4. race — a contest
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. rash — a series
  9. branch — a division
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — to come from
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bass — the fish
  15. row — a line
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. row — to paddle
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. race — humankind
  24. rash — hasty

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