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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: clip · capital · craft · vault · racket · object

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. object — to protest
  3. vault — a safe
  4. clip — to cut
  5. craft — a skill
  6. object — a thing
  7. craft — boats
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. object — an aim
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. clip — for paper
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. clip — a video

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