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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 116 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. mate — a partner
  7. wound — an injury
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — in sport
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. season — of the year
  13. scale — in music
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. tube — a container
  17. scale — size or range
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. tube — the underground
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. vault — a safe
  24. fork — in a road

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