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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: vault · degree · lean · rule · capital · craft

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rule — a law
  4. capital — a city
  5. degree — an amount
  6. lean — to bend
  7. capital — money
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. lean — thin
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a skill
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rule — government

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