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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: can · capital · hand · mine · ball · vault · cold · calf

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. ball — a dance
  5. vault — a safe
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. capital — money
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. can — a tin
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. can — to be able to
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. mine — for digging
  20. ball — a great time
  21. hand — help
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. hand — in cards

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