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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 116 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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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 · craft · last · vault · wind · cabinet · mug · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. last — finally
  3. race — a contest
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. last — to go on
  6. capital — a city
  7. mug — a cup
  8. craft — a skill
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. capital — money
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. vault — a safe
  14. wind — moving air
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. craft — boats
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. last — final
  22. race — the arms race
  23. mug — to rob
  24. mug — a face

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