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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. object — an aim
  3. capital — a city
  4. press — to push
  5. mate — a friend
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. object — to protest
  10. capital — money
  11. object — a thing
  12. mate — to breed
  13. wind — moving air
  14. craft — a skill
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mate — a partner
  19. tear — to rip
  20. press — a publisher
  21. tear — from crying
  22. press — newspapers
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — boats

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