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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. firm — steady
  3. rest — what's left
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. vault — a safe
  9. rest — a break
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. rest — what's left
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. capital — a city
  16. firm — decided
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. kid — to tease
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. capital — money
  21. firm — a company
  22. spring — the season
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. chair — a leader

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