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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: clip · lash · race · capital · mark · vault

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. mark — a grade
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mark — a trace
  7. clip — to cut
  8. capital — a city
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. race — humankind
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. clip — for paper
  15. capital — money
  16. race — a contest
  17. clip — a video
  18. race — the arms race

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