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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. pop — music
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pop — soda
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. roll — a list
  11. cold — an illness
  12. race — humankind
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. roll — a cake
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bark — to shout
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. vault — a safe
  23. race — a contest
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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