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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.

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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. pop — music
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. drill — army training
  6. capital — a city
  7. drill — a practice
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. snap — to click
  11. pop — to visit
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. vault — a safe
  14. capital — money
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. face — part of the head
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — to confront
  21. stem — to come from
  22. drill — the tool
  23. pop — soda
  24. capital — a big letter

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