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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 124 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. press — newspapers
  3. cap — a hat
  4. spring — a coil
  5. last — finally
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. dip — to sink
  9. spring — the season
  10. cell — in biology
  11. capital — a city
  12. spring — of water
  13. press — a publisher
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. press — to push
  16. cell — a phone
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cap — a lid
  21. capital — money
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. last — to go on
  24. vault — a safe

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