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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 120 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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. ground — crushed
  4. race — humankind
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. ground — the earth
  7. present — the time now
  8. race — the arms race
  9. present — there
  10. cold — not warm
  11. present — a gift
  12. vault — a safe
  13. hand — in cards
  14. ground — a position
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. hand — help
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. race — a contest
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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