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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. present — there
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. spring — the season
  6. season — in sport
  7. pound — a weight
  8. spring — a coil
  9. season — of the year
  10. vault — a safe
  11. spring — of water
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — final
  15. present — the time now
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. capital — a city
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. last — finally
  24. present — a gift

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