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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 120 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. band — a ring
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. spring — of water
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. capital — money
  12. wake — a trail
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. vault — a safe
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. spring — the season
  22. pitch — completely
  23. band — a music group
  24. fan — a supporter

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