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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: roll · tear · ball · pitch · capital · court · vault · cell

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. capital — a city
  3. tear — to rip
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. vault — a safe
  6. court — of a king
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. tear — from crying
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. roll — a cake
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. ball — a great time
  15. roll — a list
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. court — for sport
  18. pitch — completely
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. court — of law
  21. capital — money
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — a phone
  24. ball — a dance

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