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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: cold · charge · capital · stock · kick · suit · content · vault

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. cold — not warm
  6. kick — in football
  7. suit — in cards
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. suit — clothes
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. stock — shares
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. charge — in control
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. vault — a safe
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. stock — goods
  20. suit — to fit
  21. charge — a price
  22. content — the amount
  23. cold — an illness
  24. charge — electricity

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