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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 116 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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. capital — money
  3. spring — of water
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cue — for pool
  6. spell — letters
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. kid — to tease
  9. game — wild animals
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bank — for money
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. vault — a safe
  15. spell — a short time
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bank — of a river
  18. game — a match
  19. spell — magic
  20. capital — a city
  21. kid — child
  22. bank — for money
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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