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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 120 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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. rest — a break
  3. key — for a lock
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. vault — a safe
  8. rest — what's left
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. spring — the season
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. spring — of water
  14. key — the most important part
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. kid — to tease
  17. key — in music
  18. capital — money
  19. kid — child
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wax — to grow
  24. capital — a city

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