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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. capital — a city
  6. vault — a safe
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. last — to go on
  10. spell — letters
  11. last — final
  12. last — finally
  13. spell — a short time
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. band — a music group
  18. chest — of your body
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. spell — magic
  21. chest — of your body
  22. capital — money
  23. chest — a box
  24. cabinet — ministers

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