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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 120 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: tear · capital · face · vault · ball · nail

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. face — to confront
  3. capital — a city
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. tear — to rip
  6. face — to point toward
  7. vault — a safe
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. face — part of the head
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. capital — money
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. tear — from crying
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a great time
  17. nail — for a hammer
  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