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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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Word bank
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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: capital · toast · rule · face · ground · last · bass · vault

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bass — low music
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. ground — the earth
  6. last — final
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. toast — bread
  9. ground — crushed
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. vault — a safe
  12. bass — the fish
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a city
  15. ground — a position
  16. last — finally
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. last — to go on
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — government
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. rule — a law
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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