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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 120 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: drill · capital · cap · vault · band · lie · ground · object

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  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. cap — a lid
  2. band — a ring
  3. ground — crushed
  4. drill — a practice
  5. capital — a city
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. object — a thing
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. drill — the tool
  10. object — an aim
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. ground — a position
  13. cap — of ice
  14. lie — to recline
  15. band — a music group
  16. capital — money
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. object — to protest
  19. cap — a hat
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. vault — a safe
  22. drill — army training
  23. ground — the earth
  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