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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: ball · chest · row · snap · wax · squash · vault · capital

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. squash — to crush
  3. snap — to click
  4. capital — money
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. row — to paddle
  9. chest — of your body
  10. squash — the sport
  11. row — a line
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. chest — a box
  14. vault — a safe
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. capital — a city
  19. wax — to grow
  20. ball — a dance
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. ball — a great time
  24. chest — of your body

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