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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 116 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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. capital — a city
  5. ground — crushed
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. capital — money
  8. bark — to shout
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. lie — to recline
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. scale — in music
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. ground — a position
  19. game — a match
  20. vault — a safe
  21. scale — size or range
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. ground — the earth
  24. scale — for weighing

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