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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: fan · ground · vault · land · hand · capital · band · racket

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. hand — in cards
  4. vault — a safe
  5. land — to come down
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. band — a ring
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. land — ground
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. band — a music group
  22. ground — crushed
  23. hand — help
  24. capital — a big letter

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