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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. game — a match
  3. lean — to bend
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. kid — child
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. capital — money
  9. kid — to tease
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. game — wild animals
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. degree — from a university
  15. sharp — clever
  16. vault — a safe
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. lean — thin
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. capital — a city
  24. degree — an amount

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