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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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Word bank
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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: clip · capital · fan · vault · arm · racket · can · tear

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. clip — a video
  4. capital — money
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. vault — a safe
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. clip — to cut
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. tear — from crying
  17. can — a tin
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. can — to be able to
  20. can — a tin
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. capital — a city

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