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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. pop — soda
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pit — a hole
  5. capital — a city
  6. spring — of water
  7. pop — to visit
  8. field — a subject
  9. rule — government
  10. field — for sport
  11. spring — a coil
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pit — in a race
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. rule — a law
  17. spring — the season
  18. field — farmland
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. branch — a division
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. pop — music
  24. capital — money

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