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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. capital — money
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. last — finally
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. stem — to come from
  7. field — farmland
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. kid — child
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. field — a subject
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. last — final
  16. vault — a safe
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. last — to go on
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. capital — a city
  22. field — for sport
  23. pass — a permit
  24. bowl — to roll

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