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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: vault · bore · court · patient · temple · face · file · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. court — of a king
  4. file — a tool
  5. court — of law
  6. bore — to drill
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. face — part of the head
  13. court — for sport
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. capital — a city
  19. bore — to tire
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. face — to confront
  23. vault — a safe
  24. capital — money

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