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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 116 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: vault · ball · tear · capital · pitch · clip

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. 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. vault — in gymnastics
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. capital — money
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. tear — from crying
  8. vault — a safe
  9. tear — to rip
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. clip — to cut
  12. ball — a dance
  13. capital — a city
  14. pitch — completely
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. clip — a video
  17. ball — a great time
  18. 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