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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: pit · capital · last · perch · vault · staff · ground · shower

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. last — final
  6. ground — crushed
  7. staff — employees
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. last — to go on
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a hole
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. staff — employees
  16. shower — to wash
  17. ground — the earth
  18. shower — rain
  19. staff — a stick
  20. ground — a position
  21. vault — a safe
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. last — finally
  24. perch — the fish

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