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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: spring · capital · wind · vault · face · mouse · bound · march

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spring — the season
  4. bound — certain
  5. spring — of water
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — part of the head
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. wind — moving air
  10. capital — a city
  11. march — the month
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. face — to point toward
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. bound — obliged
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. march — music
  19. vault — a safe
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. bound — tied together
  22. spring — a coil
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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