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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bore — to tire
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. chest — a box
  8. game — a match
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lean — thin
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. tube — the underground
  16. vault — a safe
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. bore — to drill
  21. chest — of your body
  22. capital — money
  23. tube — a container
  24. game — wild animals

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