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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rest — what's left
  3. capital — money
  4. wind — moving air
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. key — for a lock
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — letters
  14. vault — a safe
  15. key — in music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. spell — magic
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rest — a break
  21. rest — what's left
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. key — the most important part
  24. capital — a city

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