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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: ground · capital · game · cabinet · hand · cap · stock · vault

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. cap — a lid
  4. hand — in cards
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. game — wild animals
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cap — of ice
  11. hand — help
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. ground — the earth
  14. capital — money
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cap — a hat
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. vault — a safe
  21. game — a match
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. stock — shares

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