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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: capital · pass · branch · clip · cold · calf · mark · vault

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. clip — to cut
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pass — a permit
  8. capital — a city
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. mark — a grade
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a trace
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. capital — money
  19. clip — a video
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. clip — for paper
  24. branch — of a tree

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