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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: firm · field · ground · fan · cap · vault · bowl · capital

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  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. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. field — for sport
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — a safe
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. ground — crushed
  9. capital — money
  10. firm — decided
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. capital — a city
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. ground — the earth
  15. cap — a hat
  16. field — a subject
  17. cap — of ice
  18. field — farmland
  19. ground — a position
  20. cap — a lid
  21. firm — a company
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. firm — steady
  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