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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. capital — a city
  4. charge — a price
  5. charge — in control
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. vault — a safe
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cold — not warm
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. pitch — completely
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — in cards
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. cold — an illness
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. capital — money
  22. band — a ring
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. charge — electricity

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