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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. track — to keep track
  4. firm — steady
  5. vault — a safe
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — money
  11. key — for a lock
  12. track — a path
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. shower — to wash
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wind — moving air
  18. shower — rain
  19. key — the most important part
  20. firm — decided
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. track — a song
  23. firm — a company
  24. key — in music

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