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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. capital — money
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. game — a match
  10. pitch — completely
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. perch — the fish
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. capital — a city
  17. staff — employees
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. vault — a safe

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