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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: content · snap · vault · rule · capital · last

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. snap — to click
  3. rule — a law
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. capital — a city
  6. last — final
  7. content — happy
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. content — the amount
  12. last — finally
  13. rule — government
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. last — to go on
  18. capital — money

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