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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 116 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. race — a contest
  4. vault — a safe
  5. mate — a partner
  6. club — for golf
  7. spell — a short time
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. club — for dancing
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cold — an illness
  14. club — a group
  15. race — the arms race
  16. spell — magic
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. race — humankind
  20. spell — letters
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. hand — in cards
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — to breed

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