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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. face — to confront
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. degree — from a university
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. degree — temperature
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. season — in sport
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — a law
  11. mark — a grade
  12. face — to point toward
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. capital — a city
  16. face — part of the head
  17. pit — in a race
  18. capital — money
  19. mark — a trace
  20. pit — a hole
  21. season — of the year
  22. vault — a safe
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. degree — an amount

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