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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: dip · ball · saw · kid · capital · vault · press · tear

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. press — to push
  4. tear — to rip
  5. capital — a city
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. dip — to sink
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. kid — child
  11. tear — from crying
  12. saw — the tool
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. ball — a great time
  17. capital — money
  18. tear — from crying
  19. vault — a safe
  20. press — a publisher
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. kid — to tease
  23. ball — a dance
  24. press — newspapers

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