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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. press — to push
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. fall — to drop
  7. press — a publisher
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fall — to drop
  10. capital — a city
  11. cap — of ice
  12. saw — the tool
  13. fall — the season
  14. saw — the tool
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — help
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cap — a hat
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cap — a lid
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. hand — part of the body

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