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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: wind · bear · vault · capital · branch · fork

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bear — the animal
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. vault — a safe
  9. fork — in a road
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. branch — a division
  16. capital — a city
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. capital — money

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