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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. race — the arms race
  3. last — final
  4. spring — a coil
  5. race — humankind
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stock — shares
  8. last — finally
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stock — goods
  11. bulb — for light
  12. last — to go on
  13. spring — of water
  14. vault — a safe
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. bulb — for light
  21. spring — the season
  22. perch — the fish
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. race — a contest

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