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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. race — a contest
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — to bend
  7. march — the month
  8. bark — to shout
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. lean — thin
  12. vault — a safe
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. march — music
  16. snap — to click
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. march — the month
  23. race — the arms race
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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