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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: can · capital · cold · kid · spell · vault · lean · toast

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. vault — a safe
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. kid — to tease
  7. can — a tin
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — a city
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. spell — a short time
  12. capital — money
  13. spell — magic
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. spell — letters
  16. cold — an illness
  17. can — a tin
  18. kid — child
  19. lean — to bend
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. cold — not warm
  23. lean — thin
  24. toast — bread

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