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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: wound · file · current · capital · vault · rest · fork · spring

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. rest — what's left
  3. spring — the season
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — money
  7. spring — of water
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. fork — in a road
  12. current — happening now
  13. current — electric
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. file — a tool
  17. vault — a safe
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. spring — a coil
  20. rest — what's left
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. current — of water
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. wound — an injury

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