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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. march — music
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. march — the month
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. rush — hurry
  12. vault — a safe
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. drill — army training
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. march — the month
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — the tool
  22. lean — to bend
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. rush — a thrill

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