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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fine — all right
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cue — a signal
  8. capital — a city
  9. pop — to visit
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mark — a trace
  12. cue — a hint
  13. fine — high quality
  14. charge — a price
  15. clip — a video
  16. capital — money
  17. pop — soda
  18. charge — electricity
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cue — for pool
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. mark — a grade
  23. charge — in control
  24. pop — music

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