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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 116 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: fall · vault · bulb · rest · capital · spell · calf · row

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. fall — the season
  3. spell — a short time
  4. rest — a break
  5. spell — letters
  6. fall — to drop
  7. spell — magic
  8. row — a line
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. bulb — for light
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bulb — for light
  14. rest — what's left
  15. capital — money
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. fall — to drop
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. row — to paddle
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. capital — a city
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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