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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: bowl · vault · foot · chest · capital · cue · last · swing

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. last — finally
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — to play on
  6. capital — a city
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. last — to go on
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. foot — a measure
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. cue — for pool
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. vault — a safe
  17. last — final
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. cue — a signal
  22. swing — music
  23. cue — a hint
  24. chest — of your body

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