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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.

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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: capital · hand · season · pass · cabinet · vault · temple · wind

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — in sport
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. vault — a safe
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. capital — money
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. capital — a city
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. hand — in cards
  21. season — of the year
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hand — help

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