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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: bat · net · jam · stand · pound · capital · tear · vault

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. tear — from crying
  3. net — for catching
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. vault — a safe
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. tear — to rip
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. net — in sport
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. pound — a weight
  18. net — after costs
  19. capital — a city
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. stand — to bear
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. capital — money
  24. tear — from crying

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