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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: club · capital · fine · tear · vault · file

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. tear — from crying
  3. club — a group
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. vault — a safe
  6. tear — from crying
  7. club — for dancing
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. tear — to rip
  10. file — a line of people
  11. fine — high quality
  12. capital — money
  13. fine — all right
  14. file — a tool
  15. capital — a city
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. file — a document

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