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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: vault · bat · pop · cell · chip · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — a city
  3. bat — the animal
  4. capital — money
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. chip — to eat
  8. cell — a phone
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. pop — music
  11. cell — in biology
  12. chip — for betting
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pop — soda
  18. vault — a safe

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