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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. face — to point toward
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. race — the arms race
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. vault — a safe
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. capital — a city
  12. race — humankind
  13. face — part of the head
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. face — to confront
  16. race — a contest
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pass — a permit
  19. deal — to handle
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. capital — money
  23. clip — a video
  24. nail — on a finger

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