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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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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: chest · capital · game · nail · vault · track · toast · perch

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. chest — of your body
  4. game — wild animals
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. chest — of your body
  8. toast — bread
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. vault — a safe
  12. chest — a box
  13. perch — the fish
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. track — a path
  16. capital — a city
  17. track — to keep track
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. track — a song
  20. capital — money
  21. game — a match
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. game — a kind of play

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