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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: squash · jam · vault · tear · band · saw · mark · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. tear — from crying
  4. vault — a safe
  5. mark — a grade
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. tear — to rip
  9. saw — the tool
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. squash — to crush
  14. squash — the sport
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. mark — a trace
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. tear — from crying
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. band — a rubber band

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