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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. capital — money
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. mate — a partner
  7. cold — an illness
  8. drill — a practice
  9. present — a gift
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. present — the time now
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rest — a break
  16. present — there
  17. chest — of your body
  18. vault — a safe
  19. cold — not warm
  20. drill — army training
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mate — to breed
  23. capital — a city
  24. mate — a friend

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