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

Word bank: race · safe · chair · pound · bat · spring · wave · vault

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. spring — a coil
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. spring — the season
  5. race — a contest
  6. bat — the animal
  7. vault — a safe
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. chair — a leader
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pound — a weight
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. race — the arms race
  21. spring — of water
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pound — for dogs
  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