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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. ground — the earth
  6. tear — to rip
  7. scale — in music
  8. ground — crushed
  9. net — in sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. net — after costs
  14. race — the arms race
  15. plane — a tool
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — a series
  18. net — for catching
  19. ground — a position
  20. scale — size or range
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. vault — a safe
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — humankind

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