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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rest — a break
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. craft — a skill
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — wild animals
  9. season — of the year
  10. vault — a safe
  11. season — in sport
  12. spell — letters
  13. rest — what's left
  14. capital — a city
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. game — a match
  21. spell — magic
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. craft — boats
  24. spell — a short time

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