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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: capital · court · bark · wave · spell · vault · snap · current

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. spell — a short time
  5. current — electric
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. capital — money
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. current — happening now
  13. bark — to shout
  14. vault — a safe
  15. snap — to click
  16. spell — letters
  17. court — of a king
  18. current — of water
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. court — of law
  22. spell — magic
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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