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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: spell · capital · saw · court · hand · straw · rest · vault

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. hand — in cards
  3. rest — what's left
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a city
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. saw — the tool
  9. vault — a safe
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. spell — magic
  12. rest — a break
  13. spell — letters
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rest — what's left
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. hand — help
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. spell — a short time
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. court — for sport

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