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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: fork · net · fall · vault · branch · kick · capital · shower

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. vault — a safe
  3. fall — to drop
  4. net — in sport
  5. shower — to wash
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. net — for catching
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. fall — the season
  11. fork — in a road
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. fall — to drop
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. branch — of a bank

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