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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: vault · capital · spring · stem · bank · clip · bass · rush

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. clip — a video
  3. spring — the season
  4. bank — for money
  5. bass — low music
  6. bank — of a river
  7. capital — a city
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bank — for money
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. clip — to cut
  14. spring — a coil
  15. capital — money
  16. spring — of water
  17. bass — the fish
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. vault — a safe
  23. clip — for paper
  24. stem — a stem cell

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