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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. fine — all right
  3. mate — to breed
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. scale — in music
  6. shower — rain
  7. scale — size or range
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. wax — to grow
  11. fine — high quality
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. capital — a city
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. mate — a partner
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. shower — to wash
  21. capital — money
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. mate — a friend

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