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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pit — a hole
  3. race — humankind
  4. ground — the earth
  5. spell — a short time
  6. pit — in a race
  7. spell — letters
  8. pound — a weight
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. race — a contest
  11. branch — a division
  12. ground — a position
  13. spell — magic
  14. race — the arms race
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. ground — crushed
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. vault — a safe
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. pound — for dogs

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