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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: wind · vault · capital · scale · tear · deal · clip · mouse

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. scale — in music
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. clip — to cut
  6. tear — from crying
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. tear — to rip
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. deal — to handle
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. capital — a city
  16. clip — for paper
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. capital — money
  19. tear — from crying
  20. clip — a video
  21. scale — size or range
  22. vault — a safe
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. wind — moving air

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