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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 116 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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. root — of a word
  3. game — wild animals
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. fall — to drop
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. root — of a plant
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. fall — to drop
  13. capital — money
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. capital — a city
  19. root — the cause
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. fork — in a road
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. game — a match
  24. fall — the season

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