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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. cap — a lid
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. race — humankind
  6. cap — a hat
  7. vault — a safe
  8. roll — a list
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. roll — a cake
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. cold — not warm
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. cold — an illness
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cap — of ice
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — a division
  22. race — a contest
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. roll — on a roll

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