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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: field · coach · wind · vault · content · capital

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. capital — money
  3. field — a subject
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. field — for sport
  8. content — the amount
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. field — farmland
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — happy
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. coach — a trainer

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