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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: ruler · board · wax · vault · capital · cold

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. capital — a city
  4. cold — not warm
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. capital — money
  11. cold — an illness
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. wax — to grow
  16. vault — a safe
  17. board — a committee
  18. wax — in the ear

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