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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · sharp · pitcher · vault · cold · mine · toast · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. capital — a city
  8. sharp — clever
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. mine — for digging
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cold — not warm
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. capital — money
  19. toast — bread
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. vault — a safe
  22. date — the fruit
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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