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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 · spring · mug · wound · date · capital · lash · stand

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. mug — a cup
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spring — the season
  5. wound — an injury
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. stand — to bear
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. capital — a city
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. capital — money
  13. date — the fruit
  14. spring — of water
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. spring — a coil
  17. vault — a safe
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. mug — a face
  21. mug — to rob
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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