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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. fine — high quality
  3. race — humankind
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — certain
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. degree — from a university
  9. vault — a safe
  10. cold — not warm
  11. race — a contest
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bound — tied together
  14. pass — a permit
  15. face — to point toward
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. cold — an illness
  18. race — the arms race
  19. degree — an amount
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. fine — all right
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to confront
  24. degree — temperature

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