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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 116 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: clip · lean · vault · capital · spring · rule · deal · chair

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. lean — thin
  3. spring — a coil
  4. clip — a video
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. capital — money
  7. clip — for paper
  8. lean — to bend
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. capital — a city
  11. rule — a law
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rule — government
  19. vault — a safe
  20. spring — the season
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. chair — a leader

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