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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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. cold — an illness
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. mate — to breed
  6. wound — an injury
  7. charge — electricity
  8. charge — a price
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. wound — an injury
  12. charge — in control
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. mate — a partner
  15. vault — a safe
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. capital — money
  19. mate — a friend
  20. cold — not warm
  21. capital — a city
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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