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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. vault — a safe
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pop — soda
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. capital — a city
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. field — a subject
  12. pop — music
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pop — to visit
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. field — farmland
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — a division
  22. capital — money
  23. rash — a series
  24. field — for sport

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