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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: tear · straw · capital · fan · band · kid · vault · can

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. capital — a city
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. capital — money
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. tear — to rip
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. tear — from crying
  16. can — a tin
  17. tear — from crying
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. kid — child
  20. vault — a safe
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. can — a tin
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. kid — to tease

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