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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. squash — the sport
  4. race — a contest
  5. last — finally
  6. vault — a safe
  7. squash — to crush
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pit — in a race
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. last — final
  14. race — the arms race
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pit — a hole
  17. mark — a trace
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. race — humankind
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. last — to go on
  23. mark — a grade
  24. perch — the fish

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