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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. spell — magic
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. cell — in biology
  8. firm — a company
  9. staff — a stick
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. firm — decided
  12. prune — to trim
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. prune — to trim
  15. vault — a safe
  16. cell — a phone
  17. spring — the season
  18. firm — steady
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — letters
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. staff — employees
  24. capital — money

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