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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: toast · capital · stick · pop · vault · tear · row · prune

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. capital — money
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. row — to paddle
  11. toast — bread
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pop — music
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. row — a line
  17. pop — to visit
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. vault — a safe
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. pop — soda

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