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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. mug — a cup
  3. field — a subject
  4. capital — a city
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. object — to protest
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. field — farmland
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. capital — money
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. object — a thing
  14. mug — a face
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. field — for sport
  17. mug — to rob
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. object — an aim
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. vault — a safe
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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