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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. race — humankind
  5. squash — to crush
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. capital — money
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. race — a contest
  13. squash — the sport
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. capital — a city
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bulb — for light
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bulb — for light
  21. branch — a division
  22. race — the arms race
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — with an edge

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