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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. last — finally
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. bat — the animal
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. tear — from crying
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. tear — from crying
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wax — to grow
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. capital — a city
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. tear — to rip
  22. vault — a safe
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. wax — in the ear

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