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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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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: saw · wind · chest · capital · season · vault · cell · craft

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — a phone
  3. season — in sport
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. chest — of your body
  6. capital — a city
  7. season — of the year
  8. chest — a box
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. craft — a skill
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. capital — money
  14. craft — boats
  15. vault — a safe
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. chest — of your body
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wind — moving air
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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