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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. squash — to crush
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cell — a phone
  7. capital — a city
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. squash — the sport
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. fine — all right
  19. branch — a division
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. vault — a safe
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. sharp — with an edge
  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