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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: chest · tear · capital · pit · rest · cue · vault · bass

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  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. bass — the fish
  2. rest — a break
  3. cue — a hint
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — what's left
  6. capital — a city
  7. cue — a signal
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — in a race
  11. capital — money
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. cue — for pool
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. bass — low music
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. tear — from crying
  23. vault — a safe
  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