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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 · bank · tube

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

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. cold — not warm
  4. tube — the underground
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. ground — the earth
  8. content — the amount
  9. cap — a hat
  10. ground — crushed
  11. tube — a container
  12. cap — of ice
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. bank — for money
  17. race — the arms race
  18. vault — a safe
  19. cap — a lid
  20. ground — a position
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bank — for money

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