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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. capital — a city
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. content — the amount
  5. drill — army training
  6. content — happy
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. key — the most important part
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. drill — a practice
  12. key — for a lock
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. vault — a safe
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. key — in music
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. drill — the tool
  24. clip — for paper

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