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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 116 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: can · race · ruler · hand · cold · march · vault · clip

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. cold — an illness
  3. can — a tin
  4. cold — not warm
  5. clip — to cut
  6. hand — help
  7. race — the arms race
  8. clip — a video
  9. march — music
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. vault — a safe
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. race — a contest
  17. can — a tin
  18. march — the month
  19. can — to be able to
  20. march — the month
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. clip — for paper
  23. race — humankind
  24. cold — the Cold War

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