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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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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 · ruler · wind · capital · club · stick · mine · press

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. vault — a safe
  5. press — to push
  6. club — a group
  7. mine — for digging
  8. wind — moving air
  9. club — for dancing
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. press — a publisher
  13. capital — money
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. capital — a city
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. club — for golf
  20. press — newspapers
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. ruler — for measuring

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