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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. shower — to wash
  5. sharp — clever
  6. vault — a safe
  7. net — after costs
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. shower — rain
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. net — for catching
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. cap — of ice
  14. net — in sport
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. pop — music
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pop — soda
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — a lid
  23. capital — money
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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