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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: squash · vault · drill · rule · capital · tear

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. squash — the sport
  6. drill — a practice
  7. rule — government
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — army training
  10. rule — a law
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. vault — a safe
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. tear — from crying

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