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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: squash · fall · cell · capital · bark · vault

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. capital — money
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. capital — a city
  5. bark — to shout
  6. vault — a safe
  7. fall — to drop
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. squash — to crush
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. cell — in biology
  17. fall — the season
  18. cell — a phone

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