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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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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: scale · cell · tear · vault · capital · bat

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. scale — size or range
  6. tear — to rip
  7. capital — money
  8. cell — a phone
  9. tear — from crying
  10. scale — in music
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. capital — a city
  14. cell — in biology
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. bat — the animal
  18. capital — a big letter

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