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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: hand · kick · vault · bowl · saw · capital · lie · tear

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. tear — from crying
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. kick — in football
  6. vault — a safe
  7. saw — the tool
  8. hand — help
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. capital — money
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. tear — to rip
  18. saw — the tool
  19. lie — to recline
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. hand — in cards
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. bowl — a dish

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