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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. vault — a safe
  3. press — to push
  4. spring — a coil
  5. race — humankind
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. race — the arms race
  10. wind — moving air
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. race — a contest
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. wax — to grow
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. press — a publisher
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. press — newspapers
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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