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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · tear · land · coach · wax · capital · game · vault

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. land — ground
  3. capital — a city
  4. game — wild animals
  5. capital — money
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. clip — a video
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. land — a country
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wax — to grow
  15. tear — from crying
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. tear — to rip
  18. game — a match
  19. vault — a safe
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. land — to come down
  22. clip — to cut
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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