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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. capital — a city
  4. squash — the sport
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. race — the arms race
  7. last — finally
  8. spell — a short time
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. capital — money
  11. spell — letters
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. rest — what's left
  14. last — final
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rest — what's left
  18. race — humankind
  19. spell — magic
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. last — to go on
  22. squash — to crush
  23. rest — a break
  24. race — a contest

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