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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. race — humankind
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. clip — a video
  8. sharp — clever
  9. vault — a safe
  10. present — the time now
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. clip — to cut
  15. present — there
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. clip — for paper
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. fall — to drop
  21. race — the arms race
  22. present — a gift
  23. race — a contest
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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