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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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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: toast · vault · ball · nail · straw · capital · branch · roll

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. capital — money
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. roll — a list
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. roll — a cake
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. ball — a dance
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. ball — a great time
  21. vault — a safe
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. branch — a division
  24. capital — a city

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