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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: stem · kid · fork · capital · bat · vault

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. bat — the animal
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. vault — a safe
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. kid — to tease
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. vault — an arched ceiling

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