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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. lean — to bend
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pitch — completely
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. capital — a city
  9. vault — a safe
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cell — a phone
  16. mine — for digging
  17. chest — a box
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. cell — in biology
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. lean — thin

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