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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. face — to confront
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. face — part of the head
  8. ground — a position
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. vault — a safe
  11. capital — money
  12. wax — to grow
  13. ground — crushed
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. season — in sport
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. season — of the year
  18. ground — the earth
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. capital — a city
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. face — to point toward

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