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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 116 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 · season · clip · wax · capital · stand

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. season — of the year
  3. vault — a safe
  4. clip — to cut
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. capital — a city
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. stand — to bear
  14. clip — a video
  15. capital — money
  16. wax — to grow
  17. clip — for paper
  18. season — in sport

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