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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. capital — money
  4. rash — hasty
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. vault — a safe
  10. chair — a leader
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. capital — a city
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. last — to go on
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. rash — a series
  18. branch — a division
  19. last — final
  20. snap — to click
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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