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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 · cold · capital · chip · prune · track · season · fan

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. chip — for betting
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — of the year
  6. track — a path
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. season — in sport
  9. capital — a city
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. track — a song
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. capital — money
  18. vault — a safe
  19. chip — to eat
  20. cold — not warm
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cold — an illness
  23. track — to keep track
  24. fan — a supporter

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