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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: vault · season · ground · pop · row · press · band · capital

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. capital — money
  4. press — to push
  5. capital — a city
  6. row — a line
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. band — a music group
  9. ground — crushed
  10. press — newspapers
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pop — soda
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. row — to paddle
  15. press — a publisher
  16. pop — music
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. pop — to visit
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. season — of the year
  21. vault — a safe
  22. season — in sport
  23. ground — a position
  24. band — a ring

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