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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: hide · fall · lie · capital · vault · roll · ball · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. lie — to recline
  3. ball — a great time
  4. vault — a safe
  5. ball — a dance
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. fall — the season
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. roll — a list
  10. last — finally
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. capital — money
  14. fall — to drop
  15. last — to go on
  16. roll — a cake
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. fall — to drop
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. capital — a city
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. ball — a round shape

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