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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mine — for digging
  6. race — a contest
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. race — the arms race
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. rock — music
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. march — music
  19. fall — to drop
  20. rock — a stone
  21. race — humankind
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. sharp — clever

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