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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: cap · last · patient · drill · vault · fork · capital · stock

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. cap — of ice
  7. last — finally
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fork — in a road
  12. drill — the tool
  13. cap — a hat
  14. capital — a city
  15. vault — a safe
  16. capital — money
  17. stock — goods
  18. cap — a lid
  19. stock — shares
  20. drill — a practice
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. drill — army training
  24. last — to go on

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