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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. wound — an injury
  3. fall — to drop
  4. face — to confront
  5. vault — a safe
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fall — the season
  10. capital — a city
  11. pass — a permit
  12. capital — money
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. fall — to drop
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. face — to point toward
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. face — part of the head

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