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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. spell — letters
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. roll — a cake
  8. season — in sport
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. capital — a city
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. season — of the year
  13. roll — a list
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. vault — a safe
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. fine — all right
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. spell — magic
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. capital — money
  24. spell — a short time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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