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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: wake · kid · cell · capital · vault · mouse · deal · rash

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. cell — a phone
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. rash — a series
  11. wake — a trail
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. capital — money
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. vault — a safe
  18. deal — to handle
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. rash — hasty
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — to tease
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. cell — in biology

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