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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. vault — a safe
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. key — for a lock
  10. season — of the year
  11. wind — moving air
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. drill — army training
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. drill — a practice
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wind — moving air
  19. key — in music
  20. key — the most important part
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. season — in sport
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. drill — the tool

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