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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 120 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: row · pass · stock · current · cell · band · vault · capital

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. vault — a safe
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. current — of water
  6. pass — a permit
  7. capital — a city
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. row — a line
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. band — a music group
  15. cell — a phone
  16. stock — shares
  17. current — happening now
  18. cell — in biology
  19. capital — money
  20. stock — goods
  21. band — a ring
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. current — electric
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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