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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 116 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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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: kick · vault · race · clip · capital · pitch · object · spring

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. object — to protest
  3. pitch — completely
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. vault — a safe
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. object — a thing
  9. spring — a coil
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. clip — to cut
  12. capital — a city
  13. clip — a video
  14. kick — in football
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. object — an aim
  17. spring — of water
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. capital — money
  20. clip — for paper
  21. race — a contest
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. spring — the season
  24. race — humankind

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