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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. race — humankind
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. clip — to cut
  7. capital — money
  8. dip — to sink
  9. race — a contest
  10. clip — a video
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. tear — to rip
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. race — the arms race
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. vault — a safe
  17. capital — a city
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — a tool
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. clip — for paper
  22. tear — from crying
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. tear — from crying

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