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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: stand · cold · game · court · race · dip · vault · tear

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. race — the arms race
  3. game — a match
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. game — wild animals
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stand — to bear
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. tear — from crying
  11. race — a contest
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. court — of a king
  20. cold — not warm
  21. race — humankind
  22. court — for sport
  23. tear — to rip
  24. court — of law

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