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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. cold — an illness
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. cold — not warm
  5. root — of a word
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. court — for sport
  11. root — the cause
  12. court — of a king
  13. vault — a safe
  14. root — of a plant
  15. lean — to bend
  16. race — a contest
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. mug — to rob
  19. mug — a cup
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — rain
  23. lean — thin
  24. court — of law

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