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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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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: club · cabinet · capital · wind · vault · stem

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — for dancing
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — money
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. vault — a safe
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. club — a group
  13. capital — a city
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. stem — to come from
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cabinet — ministers

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