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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bear — the animal
  5. land — to come down
  6. cell — a phone
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. race — a contest
  11. vault — a safe
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bear — the animal
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. mate — a partner
  18. kick — in football
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. land — a country
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. cell — in biology
  23. land — ground
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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