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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: chair · vault · rash · face · ground · capital · prune · mark

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. face — to point toward
  3. mark — a grade
  4. rash — hasty
  5. capital — money
  6. vault — a safe
  7. chair — a leader
  8. face — to confront
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rash — a series
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. ground — a position
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. ground — crushed
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. ground — the earth
  18. mark — a trace
  19. capital — a city
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. prune — to trim
  23. face — part of the head
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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