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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. object — to protest
  3. spring — the season
  4. object — a thing
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. spring — of water
  7. chest — of your body
  8. spring — a coil
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. face — part of the head
  12. chest — a box
  13. face — to confront
  14. last — final
  15. face — to point toward
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. last — to go on
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. vault — a safe
  22. chest — of your body
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. object — an aim

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