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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 · spring · hand · calf · season · vault · march · capital

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. vault — a safe
  8. last — final
  9. last — to go on
  10. march — music
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. season — of the year
  13. march — the month
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. hand — in cards
  16. march — the month
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. capital — a city
  19. hand — help
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. last — finally
  22. capital — money
  23. spring — of water
  24. season — to add flavour

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