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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — finally
  4. saw — the tool
  5. capital — a city
  6. vault — a safe
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. last — final
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. band — a music group
  14. saw — the tool
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a dance
  17. kick — in football
  18. band — a ring
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. capital — money
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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