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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 120 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. chest — of your body
  3. degree — from a university
  4. tube — the underground
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. chair — a leader
  7. capital — a city
  8. firm — a company
  9. degree — temperature
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. firm — steady
  12. chest — a box
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. tube — a container
  15. shower — rain
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. vault — a safe
  20. firm — decided
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. degree — an amount
  23. shower — to wash
  24. chair — to sit on

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