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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: mate · vault · capital · mouse · race · wind

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. vault — a safe
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mate — to breed
  5. race — a contest
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. mate — a partner
  8. capital — a city
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. wind — moving air
  12. race — humankind
  13. mate — a friend
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. race — the arms race
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. vault — an arched ceiling

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