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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · pit · cap · vault · mate · tear · spell · scale

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. club — for dancing
  3. cap — a hat
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pit — a hole
  6. tear — from crying
  7. club — for golf
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. tear — to rip
  10. spell — letters
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. club — a group
  13. spell — magic
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. cap — a lid
  16. scale — in music
  17. spell — a short time
  18. mate — to breed
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — size or range
  21. pit — in a race
  22. vault — a safe
  23. cap — of ice
  24. mate — a partner

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