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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: mate · capital · prune · chair · vault · bear

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. capital — money
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. prune — to trim
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. mate — to breed
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bear — the animal
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. vault — a safe
  13. bear — the animal
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. mate — a friend
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. capital — a city

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