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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: present · game · spring · swing · capital · vault · current · rash

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. spring — of water
  3. present — a gift
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. game — wild animals
  6. vault — a safe
  7. swing — to play on
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. present — the time now
  10. game — a match
  11. present — there
  12. spring — the season
  13. swing — music
  14. rash — hasty
  15. swing — in golf
  16. current — of water
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. capital — a city
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. current — happening now
  21. rash — a series
  22. capital — money
  23. spring — a coil
  24. current — electric

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