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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. capital — a city
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. saw — the tool
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. face — to point toward
  9. capital — money
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. saw — the tool
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. shower — to wash
  24. mine — an explosive

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