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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. charge — in control
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rash — hasty
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. deal — to handle
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. race — humankind
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. race — the arms race
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. race — a contest
  17. rash — a series
  18. charge — a price
  19. charge — electricity
  20. mine — for digging
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. cold — an illness
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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