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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. last — to go on
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. drill — army training
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. capital — a city
  8. clip — to cut
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — a short time
  11. season — in sport
  12. clip — a video
  13. drill — the tool
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. clip — for paper
  17. drill — a practice
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — of the year
  20. last — finally
  21. last — final
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. capital — money
  24. spell — magic

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