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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bark — to shout
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — for digging
  6. race — humankind
  7. sharp — clever
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. band — a ring
  10. drill — the tool
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. vault — a safe
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — army training
  16. band — a music group
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rush — a thrill

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