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

Word bank: file · vault · capital · swing · fork · bat

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. swing — music
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. file — a document
  5. bat — the animal
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. capital — money
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. swing — to play on
  13. file — a line of people
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. vault — a safe
  16. swing — in golf
  17. file — a tool
  18. fork — a garden tool

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