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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: capital · march · spring · vault · tube · mouse · nail · staff

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. spring — a coil
  4. march — the month
  5. capital — a city
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. staff — employees
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. tube — a container
  11. spring — the season
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. capital — money
  14. vault — a safe
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. march — music
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. march — the month
  21. tube — the underground
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. staff — employees
  24. spring — of water

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