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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: cap · last · trunk · content · clip · vault · spring · temple

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. clip — for paper
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. cap — of ice
  8. clip — a video
  9. cap — a hat
  10. spring — a coil
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. cap — a lid
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. clip — to cut
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. last — final
  18. content — the amount
  19. spring — of water
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. content — happy
  23. vault — a safe
  24. trunk — of a tree

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