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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: vault · object · capital · staff · hand · cold · tube · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. object — a thing
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. tube — the underground
  5. cold — not warm
  6. capital — a city
  7. object — to protest
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. hand — in cards
  11. season — of the year
  12. object — an aim
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. season — in sport
  16. hand — help
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. cold — an illness
  20. vault — a safe
  21. tube — a container
  22. capital — money
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. staff — employees

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