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

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. degree — temperature
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — a phone
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — money
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. lean — thin
  10. capital — a city
  11. degree — an amount
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. kick — in football
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. vault — a safe

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