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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. capital — a city
  3. staff — employees
  4. last — finally
  5. last — final
  6. hand — help
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to bend
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. hand — in cards
  11. capital — money
  12. board — a committee
  13. scale — in music
  14. board — to get on
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. staff — employees
  17. scale — size or range
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. staff — a stick
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. vault — a safe
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. last — to go on
  24. scale — for weighing

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