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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. race — a contest
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — a lid
  8. season — in sport
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — the arms race
  11. march — the month
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cell — in biology
  15. vault — a safe
  16. sharp — clever
  17. march — the month
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. season — of the year
  23. march — music
  24. cap — of ice

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