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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. race — the arms race
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. rash — hasty
  5. race — a contest
  6. wound — an injury
  7. vault — a safe
  8. rash — a series
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. season — in sport
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. race — humankind
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wound — an injury
  16. season — of the year
  17. content — the amount
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. content — happy
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. mine — an explosive

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