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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: band · wound · squash · kick · net · leaves · capital · vault

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. capital — money
  3. net — in sport
  4. vault — a safe
  5. band — a music group
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. band — a ring
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. net — after costs
  12. capital — a city
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. squash — to crush
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. squash — the sport
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. kick — in football

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