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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. cue — a signal
  4. last — finally
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. cue — for pool
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bass — the fish
  9. clip — for paper
  10. lean — thin
  11. last — to go on
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bore — to tire
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. cue — a hint
  19. clip — a video
  20. lean — to bend
  21. bass — low music
  22. bore — to drill
  23. last — final
  24. bass — the instrument

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