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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 120 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: board · ball · calf · capital · cold · bore · bat · vault

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. capital — money
  5. ball — a great time
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. board — a committee
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. board — to get on
  11. bore — to tire
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bore — to drill
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. vault — a safe
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. capital — a city
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cold — not warm

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