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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: toast · vault · face · kid · bear · capital

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. toast — bread
  2. face — part of the head
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. bear — the animal
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. face — to confront
  7. kid — child
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. face — to point toward
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. kid — to tease
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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