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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: wake · trunk · vault · clip · capital · craft · game · board

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. vault — a safe
  3. clip — for paper
  4. board — a committee
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. craft — boats
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. wake — a trail
  15. clip — a video
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. clip — to cut
  20. craft — a skill
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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