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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: wake · vault · leaves · roll · shower · capital · cap · deal

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cap — a hat
  3. shower — to wash
  4. wake — a trail
  5. vault — a safe
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cap — of ice
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. capital — a city
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. capital — money
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. shower — rain
  15. roll — a cake
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. cap — a lid
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. roll — a list
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. deal — to handle

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