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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. prune — to trim
  3. capital — money
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cell — a phone
  12. chest — a box
  13. wax — to grow
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. chest — of your body
  21. scale — in music
  22. cell — in biology
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. vault — a safe

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