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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  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. race — the arms race
  2. mine — for digging
  3. prune — to trim
  4. march — music
  5. prune — to trim
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. vault — a safe
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. race — humankind
  13. spring — a coil
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. march — the month
  16. spring — the season
  17. march — the month
  18. bat — the animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. spring — of water
  23. mine — an explosive
  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