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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 120 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: present · capital · race · vault · fall · wind

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — humankind
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. race — the arms race
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. present — a gift
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. fall — to drop
  11. vault — a safe
  12. fall — the season
  13. capital — money
  14. present — there
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wind — moving air
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. present — the time now

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