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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: last · season · spring · fine · branch · vault · face · capital

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. face — to point toward
  3. fine — high quality
  4. spring — of water
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. season — of the year
  8. spring — the season
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. spring — a coil
  11. last — final
  12. season — in sport
  13. branch — a division
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. last — finally
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. vault — a safe
  19. capital — money
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. face — part of the head
  23. last — to go on
  24. face — to confront

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