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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. staff — a stick
  6. cold — an illness
  7. staff — employees
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. vault — a safe
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. court — of law
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. rush — hurry
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. cold — not warm
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. staff — employees
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. capital — money
  21. court — for sport
  22. march — music
  23. court — of a king
  24. rush — a thrill

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