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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 116 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: field · vault · charge · face · cap · content · capital · mine

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. charge — electricity
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cap — a lid
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. field — farmland
  7. content — happy
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. vault — a safe
  10. face — part of the head
  11. cap — a hat
  12. field — a subject
  13. content — the amount
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. charge — in control
  16. capital — a city
  17. charge — a price
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. field — for sport
  20. cap — of ice
  21. face — to point toward
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. capital — money
  24. face — to confront

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