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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. ground — crushed
  3. object — an aim
  4. face — to point toward
  5. object — a thing
  6. band — a ring
  7. vault — a safe
  8. row — to paddle
  9. ground — a position
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. face — part of the head
  14. object — to protest
  15. band — a music group
  16. spring — of water
  17. ground — the earth
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. face — to confront
  24. row — a quarrel

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