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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. row — a line
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. face — part of the head
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. chip — to eat
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. land — to come down
  12. face — to confront
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. row — to paddle
  15. land — ground
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. face — to point toward
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a city
  22. chip — for betting
  23. land — a country
  24. vault — a safe

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