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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 · tube · stand · pound · cell · drill · capital · bear

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. tube — the underground
  4. cell — a phone
  5. drill — the tool
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. vault — a safe
  10. drill — a practice
  11. capital — a city
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. drill — army training
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. tube — a container
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. stand — to bear
  20. pound — a weight
  21. cell — in biology
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. capital — money
  24. pound — to hit hard

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