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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. race — humankind
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. vault — a safe
  13. net — in sport
  14. prune — to trim
  15. race — a contest
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. race — the arms race
  18. net — after costs
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. net — for catching
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — to eat with

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