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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — crushed
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. mate — to breed
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cell — a phone
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — in biology
  13. vault — a safe
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. capital — money
  16. perch — the fish
  17. capital — a city
  18. mate — a partner
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. ground — the earth
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. mate — a friend

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