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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 116 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. ball — a great time
  3. fall — to drop
  4. capital — money
  5. ball — a dance
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — hasty
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — to breed
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. vault — a safe
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. wake — a trail
  19. content — happy
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. content — the amount
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. fall — the season
  24. mate — a partner

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