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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. capital — a city
  5. staff — employees
  6. rash — a series
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. rush — hurry
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. branch — a division
  16. rash — hasty
  17. staff — a stick
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. staff — employees
  24. rush — a thrill

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