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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. pop — soda
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. pop — music
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. net — for catching
  10. rush — hurry
  11. vault — a safe
  12. pop — to visit
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. game — a match
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. net — after costs
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. game — wild animals
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. wake — a trail
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. net — in sport
  24. capital — a big letter

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