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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 120 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: can · vault · capital · stem · bore · season · pitcher · chip

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. can — a tin
  3. can — a tin
  4. chip — to eat
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. chip — for betting
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. capital — a city
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. season — of the year
  14. capital — money
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. bore — to tire
  17. vault — a safe
  18. stem — to come from
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. season — in sport
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. can — to be able to
  24. pitcher — a jug

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