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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: straw · capital · cold · bulb · vault · mouse · saw · pitch

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. capital — a city
  5. vault — a safe
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pitch — completely
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bulb — for light
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. capital — money
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bulb — for light
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cold — not warm

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