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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. toast — bread
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. bat — the animal
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — a group
  8. clip — for paper
  9. race — the arms race
  10. clip — a video
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. vault — a safe
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. clip — to cut
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. race — humankind
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. club — for golf
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. race — a contest
  23. wound — an injury
  24. coach — a trainer

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