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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. degree — temperature
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. degree — from a university
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. vault — a safe
  12. mine — for digging
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. degree — an amount
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. plane — a tool
  24. cabinet — ministers

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