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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: vault · stock · mine · swing · patient · season · capital · club

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. vault — a safe
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. swing — music
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. club — for dancing
  9. swing — in golf
  10. club — for golf
  11. season — of the year
  12. stock — shares
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. club — a group
  15. capital — money
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. season — in sport
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. stock — goods
  22. mine — for digging
  23. swing — to play on
  24. stock — a soup base

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