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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · race · cold · content · cap · vault

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. cap — a lid
  4. ground — the earth
  5. cold — an illness
  6. ground — a position
  7. cap — of ice
  8. content — the amount
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. race — a contest
  12. cap — a hat
  13. content — happy
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cold — not warm
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. race — humankind
  18. vault — a safe

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