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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cap — a hat
  4. file — a line of people
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. file — a document
  7. capital — a city
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pit — in a race
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. capital — money
  13. vault — a safe
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. mine — for digging
  16. file — a tool
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. wake — a trail
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — of ice
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. pit — a hole

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