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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: bat · scale · capital · cap · wax · vault · temple · jam

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. capital — money
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. cap — of ice
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — a hat
  11. scale — in music
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wax — to grow
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. vault — a safe
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. capital — a city
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. scale — size or range
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. bat — for baseball

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