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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. race — humankind
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. object — an aim
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. content — the amount
  14. object — a thing
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. game — wild animals
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. object — to protest
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. game — a match
  22. vault — a safe
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — the arms race

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