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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: hand · stock · rash · dip · vault · capital · last · saw

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. stock — shares
  4. hand — in cards
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. capital — money
  8. last — to go on
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. saw — the tool
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. last — finally
  13. rash — hasty
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. rash — a series
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. hand — help
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. stock — goods
  22. saw — the tool
  23. capital — a city
  24. vault — a safe

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