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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 120 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: staff · pit · kid · shower · vault · capital

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — a hole
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. kid — to tease
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. staff — employees
  9. capital — a city
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. vault — a safe
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. pit — in a race
  16. kid — child
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. capital — money

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