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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  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. ruler — a monarch
  2. scale — in music
  3. court — of a king
  4. capital — money
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fall — to drop
  10. court — for sport
  11. scale — size or range
  12. race — humankind
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. fall — to drop
  15. capital — a city
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. race — the arms race
  20. vault — a safe
  21. race — a contest
  22. court — of law
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  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