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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: face · pound · shower · vault · capital · charge · pit · chest

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. capital — money
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. charge — electricity
  10. charge — a price
  11. face — to point toward
  12. charge — in control
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pit — in a race
  16. capital — a city
  17. pound — a weight
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. chest — of your body
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. vault — a safe
  24. pit — a hole

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