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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 124 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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. capital — money
  4. clip — to cut
  5. hand — in cards
  6. press — to push
  7. clip — for paper
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — humankind
  10. clip — a video
  11. march — music
  12. press — a publisher
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. race — a contest
  15. press — newspapers
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. march — the month
  20. capital — a city
  21. vault — a safe
  22. hand — help
  23. march — the month
  24. coach — a trainer

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