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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 120 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: vault · kick · nail · bark · capital · kid · wave · prune

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. prune — to trim
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. prune — to trim
  6. vault — a safe
  7. kid — child
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. capital — money
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — to shout
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kick — in football
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. capital — a city
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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