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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. capital — a city
  6. staff — employees
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wind — moving air
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. hand — help
  13. wind — moving air
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — a stick
  16. capital — money
  17. can — a tin
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. rush — hurry
  20. wake — a trail
  21. can — a tin
  22. vault — a safe
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. can — to be able to

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