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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 116 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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. present — there
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. file — a document
  6. stock — goods
  7. vault — a safe
  8. present — a gift
  9. present — the time now
  10. capital — a city
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. drill — a practice
  14. branch — a division
  15. stock — shares
  16. file — a tool
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. capital — money
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. file — a line of people
  24. pitch — completely

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