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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. capital — money
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — to push
  10. press — newspapers
  11. vault — a safe
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. capital — a city
  16. stock — goods
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. rest — what's left
  21. stock — shares
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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