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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. face — to confront
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. face — part of the head
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. vault — a safe
  14. face — to point toward
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. rock — a stone
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. wake — a trail
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. capital — a city
  24. leaves — lets stay

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