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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: firm · vault · prune · capital · race · snap

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. race — humankind
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — a safe
  7. capital — a city
  8. snap — to click
  9. capital — money
  10. prune — to trim
  11. race — a contest
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. firm — a company
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. firm — steady
  17. prune — to trim
  18. race — the arms race

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