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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 124 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. vault — a safe
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. capital — a city
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. rock — music
  15. capital — money
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. snap — to click
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. rock — a stone
  20. fork — in a road
  21. row — a line
  22. mine — for digging
  23. season — in sport
  24. row — to paddle

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