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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 120 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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a city
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. present — a gift
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. cap — of ice
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. present — the time now
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. cell — a phone
  15. prune — to trim
  16. present — there
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cap — a hat
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. cap — a lid
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — rain
  24. prune — to trim

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