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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: current · arm · field · vault · capital · fall · ball · tear

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. current — electric
  3. fall — to drop
  4. ball — a dance
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fall — the season
  7. current — happening now
  8. vault — a safe
  9. capital — money
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. field — for sport
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. field — a subject
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. current — of water
  19. tear — to rip
  20. field — farmland
  21. tear — from crying
  22. fall — to drop
  23. capital — a city
  24. ball — a great time

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