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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: vault · last · race · bowl · capital · date

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. capital — money
  3. last — to go on
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. last — final
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. capital — a city
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. race — a contest
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. last — finally
  14. race — the arms race
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. race — humankind
  18. vault — a safe

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