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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: capital · temple · chest · stem · straw · vault

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. capital — money
  3. chest — a box
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. capital — a city
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stem — to come from
  11. chest — of your body
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. vault — a safe
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. straw — a straw man

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