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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 120 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. spring — of water
  3. scale — in music
  4. bear — the animal
  5. fall — to drop
  6. face — part of the head
  7. staff — employees
  8. fall — to drop
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. vault — a safe
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. staff — employees
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — to confront
  16. spring — the season
  17. staff — a stick
  18. spring — a coil
  19. capital — money
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. scale — size or range
  24. fall — the season

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