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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: straw · pass · capital · content · bowl · ground · vault · temple

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. ground — a position
  5. capital — money
  6. pass — a permit
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. content — happy
  9. capital — a city
  10. ground — the earth
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. vault — a safe
  15. ground — crushed
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. content — the amount
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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