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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: rule · court · last · file · capital · deal · vault · wave

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. file — a document
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. last — final
  7. file — a tool
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. last — finally
  12. rule — government
  13. last — to go on
  14. vault — a safe
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. rule — a law
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. court — of law
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. capital — a city
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. deal — to handle

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