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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: file · vault · field · spring · capital · race · current · wound

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. race — the arms race
  3. field — for sport
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. spring — a coil
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. race — a contest
  9. current — happening now
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. capital — money
  12. spring — the season
  13. current — of water
  14. vault — a safe
  15. file — a tool
  16. wound — an injury
  17. field — farmland
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spring — of water
  20. race — humankind
  21. field — a subject
  22. file — a document
  23. current — electric
  24. file — a line of people

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