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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: wound · cold · vault · lean · sharp · club · ruler · race

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. race — a contest
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lean — thin
  6. race — the arms race
  7. club — a group
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wound — an injury
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. sharp — clever
  12. club — for golf
  13. wound — an injury
  14. vault — a safe
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. race — humankind
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. ruler — for measuring

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