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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 120 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. lie — to recline
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. net — for catching
  6. last — finally
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. last — to go on
  11. spell — letters
  12. degree — from a university
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — after costs
  15. pass — a permit
  16. last — final
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. capital — a city
  19. vault — a safe
  20. degree — temperature
  21. spell — magic
  22. degree — an amount
  23. capital — money
  24. spell — a short time

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