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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 120 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.

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: chair · land · march · bear · wound · capital · can · vault

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. capital — a city
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. chair — a leader
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. bear — the animal
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. land — a country
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — to be able to
  16. capital — money
  17. vault — a safe
  18. wound — an injury
  19. march — the month
  20. wound — an injury
  21. land — ground
  22. land — to come down
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a professorship

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