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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. file — a line of people
  3. vault — a safe
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. capital — money
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bear — the animal
  9. suit — to fit
  10. bear — the animal
  11. degree — an amount
  12. spring — the season
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. suit — clothes
  15. degree — temperature
  16. capital — a city
  17. file — a document
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. file — a tool
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. degree — from a university

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