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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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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: bat · degree · pass · squash · vault · rash · capital · tube

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rash — hasty
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. pass — a permit
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — to crush
  9. vault — a safe
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. squash — the sport
  12. capital — a city
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. tube — a container
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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