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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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. capital — a city
  4. bass — the fish
  5. band — a music group
  6. root — the cause
  7. land — a country
  8. land — to come down
  9. root — of a word
  10. root — of a plant
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. land — ground
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. wound — an injury
  16. band — a ring
  17. wound — an injury
  18. vault — a safe
  19. capital — money
  20. season — of the year
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. season — in sport
  23. bass — low music
  24. band — a rubber band

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