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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. pitch — completely
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. root — of a word
  5. pop — to visit
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. clip — a video
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pop — soda
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. vault — a safe
  15. root — of a plant
  16. pop — music
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mine — for digging
  22. root — the cause
  23. rush — hurry
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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