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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 116 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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. saw — the tool
  3. squash — to crush
  4. cell — in biology
  5. prune — to trim
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. pass — a permit
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. vault — a safe
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. prune — to trim
  13. squash — the sport
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. capital — a city
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. saw — the tool
  20. cell — a phone
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. capital — money
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. hide — to keep secret

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