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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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Word bank
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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: vault · ground · date · capital · straw · tear

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. capital — a city
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — the earth
  6. tear — from crying
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. vault — a safe
  9. tear — from crying
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. tear — to rip
  15. date — the fruit
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. capital — money
  18. date — on the calendar

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