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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: chip · field · fall · cap · hand · capital · pop · vault

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cap — a lid
  3. field — farmland
  4. pop — music
  5. pop — soda
  6. field — for sport
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. cap — a hat
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. field — a subject
  12. fall — to drop
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. pop — to visit
  16. cap — of ice
  17. chip — to eat
  18. capital — money
  19. hand — help
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — a safe
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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