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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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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 · cap · vault · pound · club · swing · game · capital

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. swing — to play on
  3. game — a match
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pound — a weight
  6. capital — a city
  7. swing — in golf
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — a coil
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. club — for golf
  12. cap — a hat
  13. capital — money
  14. club — for dancing
  15. swing — music
  16. cap — of ice
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. game — wild animals
  19. spring — of water
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. vault — a safe
  22. cap — a lid
  23. club — a group
  24. pound — for dogs

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