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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. capital — a city
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. shower — to wash
  6. roll — a list
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. roll — a cake
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. vault — a safe
  14. chair — a leader
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. mark — a trace
  17. capital — money
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. shower — rain
  20. field — a subject
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  24. jam — a tight spot

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