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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: vault · spell · bowl · spring · date · chip · cue · capital

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. vault — a safe
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. cue — a hint
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cue — for pool
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. chip — for betting
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. spring — of water
  14. capital — a city
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. date — the fruit
  18. spell — magic
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. spell — letters
  21. capital — money
  22. cue — a signal
  23. spell — a short time
  24. date — on the calendar

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