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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: shower · capital · pound · vault · chair · cap

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. capital — money
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cap — of ice
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — a lid
  12. vault — a safe
  13. pound — a weight
  14. capital — a city
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. shower — rain

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