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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: hand · bear · club · kid · ball · rule · capital · vault

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. club — for golf
  4. bear — the animal
  5. rule — government
  6. kid — to tease
  7. club — a group
  8. rule — a law
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bear — the animal
  11. ball — a dance
  12. capital — a city
  13. kid — child
  14. capital — money
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. vault — a safe
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. ball — a great time
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. hand — help
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. hand — in cards

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