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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. race — the arms race
  3. pop — soda
  4. vault — a safe
  5. spring — the season
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. cap — a hat
  10. pop — to visit
  11. row — a line
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. row — to paddle
  14. spring — a coil
  15. board — a committee
  16. hand — help
  17. race — a contest
  18. board — to get on
  19. race — humankind
  20. cap — of ice
  21. pop — music
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. cap — a lid
  24. hand — in cards

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