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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. charge — a price
  4. bank — of a river
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. race — humankind
  7. charge — in control
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. race — the arms race
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. race — a contest
  12. band — a ring
  13. capital — money
  14. bank — for money
  15. vault — a safe
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bank — for money
  18. clip — a video
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. charge — electricity
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. band — a music group

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