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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. land — a country
  3. club — for golf
  4. clip — a video
  5. capital — a city
  6. land — ground
  7. vault — a safe
  8. press — to push
  9. mark — a trace
  10. clip — for paper
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — newspapers
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. band — a ring
  15. club — a group
  16. capital — money
  17. land — to come down
  18. band — a music group
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. clip — to cut
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. club — for dancing

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