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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. track — a path
  3. track — a song
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. track — to keep track
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. plane — a tool
  11. vault — a safe
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. wound — an injury
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. capital — a city
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rock — music
  20. rock — a stone
  21. capital — money
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — a division

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