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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. mate — to breed
  3. kid — to tease
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. lean — to bend
  6. capital — a city
  7. kid — child
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mate — a partner
  11. capital — money
  12. file — a line of people
  13. lean — thin
  14. file — a document
  15. tear — from crying
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mate — a friend
  19. file — a tool
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. rule — a law
  22. vault — a safe
  23. rule — government
  24. rule — to rule out

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