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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 always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. race — humankind
  4. vault — a safe
  5. race — a contest
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bass — low music
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bound — certain
  13. file — a tool
  14. bound — tied together
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. content — happy
  20. file — a line of people
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. file — a document
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bass — the fish

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