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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: vault · jam · bass · kid · cell · capital

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bass — low music
  4. kid — child
  5. cell — a phone
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a city
  14. vault — a safe
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. bass — the fish

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